OCTOBER 2009 www.passportmagazine.ru

Ballets Russes in Moscow Playground of the People – VDNKh Update on Russian Wines Peter Mamonov and Oleg Yankovsky star in ‘Tsar’

Contents 4 What’s On In October 7 October Holidays 8 Previews 11 Theater 11 12 Ballet Ballets Russes in Moscow 14 Film Peter Mamonov as Ivan the Terrible in Tsar 16 Art Moscow Biennale 14 20 Architecture VDNKh 22 Media The English Language Press 24 Travel Yakutia 24 28 Restaurant Review Osteria Montiroli 30 Wine Tasting Russian Wine Country Update 32 Book Review The Quest for Radovan Karadzic 30 33 Out & About 36 Real Estate Prospekt Mira 40 Community Football: From Journalist to Footballist

40 42 Columns Real Estate Relocation Financial Overview 45 Viewpoint Michael Romanov’s Diary Flintstone

45 48 Distribution List

October 2009  Letter from the Publisher Beauty Center in Baltschug Kempinski Reopens The beauty salon: Beauty Center Baltschug has reopened. The center guarantees the highest standard of service, English-speaking staff and sensible pricing. This is exactly what business people who need the best possible service need! We provide excellent cosmetology (Kanebo- Sensai Sothys), medicinal spa-routines for hair (La Biosthetique), and an original massage routine – these are only a few of the services that we offer our clients. Happy hours means 20% off during weekdays from 11:00 to 13:00. Clients holding the Privilege Card Baltschug Kempin- ski card enjoy discounts on a continuous basis. Trafalgar Ball The 10th Trafalgar Ball will be held on Saturday October 24 in the ballroom of the Marriott Grand Hotel. The event is organized by the British Business Club. This is the highlight of the expat calendar in Moscow. A sumptuous 4-course dinner, select wines and professional enter- tainment will ensure a most memorable evening. John Ortega The dress code is dinner jackets for the men and ball gowns for the ladies. Attended by many Owner and Publisher high-level British businessmen and their Russian partners, the ball is to be opened by Her Majesty’s Ambassador to , Anne Pringle. This month as the autumn The primary aim of the Trafalgar Ball is to raise money for the British Business Club’s chosen inexorably turns into winter, charity, the Taganka Children’s Fund which provides great support for less fortunate single Moscow’s cultural life really parent families. All proceeds are donated to this charity to enable them to continue their takes off. The Moscow Biennale wonderful work. of contemporary art is in full Details of the Trafalgar Ball can be seen at www.BritishClub.ru and to reserve tickets: british- swing and has now taken over [email protected] 50 exhibition spaces through- out the city. On the other end of the cultural scale, an exhibi- Oktoberfest Festival in Marriott Grand Hotel tion celebrating the 100th an- Every year we celebrate the Oktoberfest festival in Marriott Grand Hotel and this year is no excep- niversary of Daighilev’s Ballets tion. Take a chance to savour famous German delicacies and legendary Munich beer like Spaten, Russes is being held at the Tre- Lowenbrau and Franziskaner from September 19 till October 4 in the Lobby Bar and Samobranka tyakov gallery, and we preview Restaurant of the hotel. During the festival we also welcome guests to Oktoberfest brunches on a variety of ‘minor’ cultural September 20 and October 4. The price is 3,200 rubles in the Samobranka restaurant including events happening this month, house wine, Russian champagne, Spaten beer and other alcoholic and soft drinks. The price of each one of which would be 3,600 rub in Grand Alexander includes the the drinks above mentioned and French wine and major event in a smaller and Prosecco; children – free under 5 y.o, 1,600 rub under 12 y.o. less important city. For reservations please call + 7 (495) 937-0000 The editor reviews Pavel Lun- gin’s film ‘Tsar,’ a film which we predict will cause quite a stir Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow Announces Director of when it finally hits Moscow’s screens in November. Charles Food & Beverage Position Borden, our newly appointed, Michel Wittwer has been appointed director of food & beverage at Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow as of but by no means new to Pass- August 26, 2009. Michel graduated from the Vieux Bois Hotel Management School (Geneva, Swit- port wine and dining editor, zerland) in 1997. His career in the hospitality industry started from the position of a sales manager provides an updated report on in Hotel Kempinski in China. In 2002 he decided to become a member of the Hyatt team. He was wines produced in Russia. Nick offered two options for development – Kirgizia or Chicago. Rees, the Jeremy Clarkson of Michel chose Kirgizia as he wanted to try himself in a new challenging place. He started working Moscow, but without the read- there as a restaurant manager and was promoted to Assistant F&B Director position soon after. ies, continues his expat football After that Michel spent one year in Almaty and was transferred to Hyatt Regency Montreal, Canada series. We take a tour around as director of F&B. the Prospect Mir area with Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow is pleased to welcome Michel to its team. Ross Hunter, and then set off to Yakutia. Enjoy

Owner and Publisher Arts Editor Wine and Dining Editor John Ortega, +7 (985) 784-2834 Alevtina Kalinina Charles Borden [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Editor Designer John Harrison Julia Nozdracheva Contributors [email protected] [email protected] Ross Hunter, Elena Rubinova, Deputy Editor Webmaster Nick Rees, Maria Savelieva, Alina Ganenko, Adrian Elena Krivovyaz Alexey Timokhin Carnegie, Ian Mitchell, Vladimir Kozlov, Marina Lukanina, [email protected] [email protected] Sherman Pereira, Andrei Sado, Roman Khripko, Peter Sales Manager Accounting and Legal Services Hainsworth, M. Partridge Valeria Astakhova Vista Foreign Business Support [email protected] Trubnaya St. 25/1, Moscow +7 (495) 933-7822

Editorial Address: Published by OOO Passport Magazine. All rights reserved. Passport occasionally uses material we believe has been 42 Volgogradsky Prospekt, Bldg. 23 This publication is registered by the Press Ministry No. placed in the public domain. Sometimes it is not possible Office 013, 1st floor 77-18639. 08.10.04 to identify and contact the copyright owner. If you claim 109316 Moscow, Russia Printed by Mozhaysky Poligrafichesky Kombinat ownership of something we have published, we will be 93 Ulitsa Mira , 143200 Mozhaysk, Russia pleased to make a proper acknowledgment. Tel. +7 (495) 640 0508 Fax +7 (495) 620-0888 www.passportmagazine.ru

 October 2009

What’s On In October Thursday, 1st the promising duet to their own techno Saturday, 3rd ground Kill The DJ, responsible for the Vladimir Spivakov Invites Eric and Seb’s LP. A remote signature Emir Kusturica & the The National Philharmonic Orchestra of style upholding a tradition established Non-Smoking Orchestra Russia conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, by The Hacker and Vitalic is all about No Smoking was a punk-infused band performs Niccolo Paganini’s violin con- power of modern techno and electro, established in Sarajevo in 1980, under certs No. 1 and 2. Soloists – Feng Ning influenced by the 1980s: synth disco and the Serbo-Croatian moniker ‘Zabranjeno (violin) and Yuki Manuela Janke (violin), heroic electronic body music. Pusenje’. Lead singer and songwriter winners of the Paganini competition in Shanti Club, 22:00 Dr. Nelle Karajlic was a bit of a thorn in Genoa. Feng Ning won this competi- the side of the post-Tito government in tion in 2006 receiving the Grand Prize Yugoslavia. The band’s debut album Das and attained a unique opportunity to ist Walter (1984), sold surprisingly well, play on one of the most famous violins and spawned the hit Zenica Blues, which by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio boasted sales of 100,000. But the ruling Guarneri “Cannone” (1743). Yuki Manu- forces weren’t about to let Zabranjeno ela Janke ranked second in Genoa Pusenje repeat that success, hence a when she was 18; she plays Stradivari crackdown prevented widespread album “Muntz”. sales and concert appearances from MMDM, Svetlanov Hall, 19:00 taking place. At that time, filmmaker and punker Emir Kusturica joined the band as their bass player and stayed long enough to record Pozdrav iz Zemlje Safari in 1987. In 1998 the No Smoking Orchestra Caspa (club music) composed the music for Emir Kusturica’s Today, Caspa is synonymous with filmBlack Cat, White Cat, which won the underground music. Basically, if you Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival the don’t know Caspa you don’t know same year. Dubstep. With an epic list of tour B1 Maximum, 21:00 dates taking him to every corner of the globe he still finds time to host a bi-monthly night at the world famous Fabric. Not content with running 3 labels, producing dancefloor bomb Julio Iglesias after dancefloor bomb and the ac- This well-known singer has sold over claimed album Everybody’s Talking, 300 million albums in 14 languages Nobody’s Listening, his skills are and released 77 albums. According to in higher demand than ever, remixing Sony Music he is one of the top 10 best for the likes of Deadmau5, Miike Snow, selling music artists of all time. Iglesias and Kid Sister to name rose to international prominence in the just a few. 1970s and 1980s as a performer of ro- 16 Tons Club, 00:00 mantic ballads and his success has con- tinued as he engaged in new musical endeavors. Thus far, he has performed approximately 5,000 concerts. Olimpisky Sport Complex, 19:00 Goldie (drum’n’bass) The first superstar produced by the breakbeat jungle movement, Goldie popularized drum’n’bass as a form of musical expression just as relevant for living-room contemplation as techno had become by the early ‘90s. Though he hardly developed the style, and his later reliance on engineers like Rob Play- ford and Optical to capture his sound puts into question his true musical importance, Goldie became one of the Kris Menace (DJ) first personalities in British dance music, The recently opened Copenhagen club nd his gold teeth and b-boy attitude plac- Friday, 2 presents German electronic musician ing him leagues ahead from the faceless Remote (DJ) and highly in-demand remixer, Kris bedroom boffins that had become the Sub-Electronics Party welcomes DJ duo Menace. He contributed for norm in intelligent dance music. Remote (Eric and Seb), one of the bright- , LCD Soundsystem, Ikra Club, 22:00 est outfits on the new wave’s club scene, Royksopp, Underworld, Felix Da House- hailing from Paris. They are patronized cat and many others. Alsothere will be: by the featured personages on the DJ Arkady Air who is having a birthday On-line Gala Concert French electronic scene: Vitalic, which party this day. The first Russian on-line gala concert issues their tracks on his Citizen label Loft club Copenhagen, 23:00 performed by laureates of the Inter- and Joakim and Ivan Smagghe signed www.copenhagenclub.ru national organ competitions ‘Soli Deo

 October 2009 What’s On In October

Gloria’. Anastasia Bykova, Yulia Drag- Elton John: W.A.S.P. (metal) inda, Sofia Iglitskaya, Maria Makarenko, One of the heavier bands to come Maria Moiseeva, Olga Pashchenko, The Red Piano Show Sir Elton John will stage his famous out of the early 80s L.A. metal scene, Alexandra Stashenko perform spiritual W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national organ music masterpieces of different Red Piano show at the Olimpisky Sport Complex on October 7. The show, infamy thanks to their shock rock im- eras and genres – from Bach to 19th age, lyrics, and live concerts. Unfortu- century composers, from rare medieval which has been running in Las Vegas to rave reviews, has been conceptualized nately, once the novelty and scandal pieces to compositions for “symphon- began to wear off, the band found it ic” organ. The organ concert will be and designed by acclaimed photogra- pher and good friend of Elton, David difficult to expand, or even maintain, broadcasting live on the Internet. Live their audience by relying only on broadcasting is available after registra- LaChapelle. The larger-than-life set, complete with Elton’s iconic red grand their music. tion on the cathedral’s website. B1 Maximum, 21:00 Roman Catholic Cathedral piano, supplies a suitable background of Immaculate Conception for this somewhat publicity-geared, of the Blessed Virgin but talented British showman. Mary, 21:00 Olimpisky Sport Complex, 19:00

Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida The Russian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra performs Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (concert version), one of the most inspired and spectacular works by Verdi. Music written to celebrate the forthcom- ing opening of the Suez Canal combines moving Verdi’s lyricism and pompous embodiment of monumental mass Wednesday, 7th scenes, to produce a highly dramatic Tenor Constellation effect. Maxim Fedotov conducts the Tuesday, 6th orchestra. Operatic parts are performed The Talents of the World Fund head- The Russian Literature and Theater ed by David Gvinianidze presents a by brilliant soloists: Elena Popovskaya Group offers Western residents of (soprano), Larisa Kostuk (mezzo-sopra- unique project that won New York’s Moscow the opportunity of meeting Carnegie Hall and Washington’s Lin- no), Roman Muravitsky (tenor), Sergey – and becoming acquainted with the Toptygin (baritone), Mikhail Guzhov coln Center – “Tenor Constellation work of – contemporary Russian writers ‘Be My Love’” The concert is dedicat- (bass) and Alexander Kiselev (bass). and theater people. The group meets MMDM, Svetlanov Hall, 19:00, also 4th ed to the famous tenor Mario Lanza once a month on Tuesday afternoons. with 2009 being 50 years since his There are occasional vacancies for new death. The project is named after Monday, 5th members who should know Russian. the beautifully lyrical composition For further information call 8-903 764 Red Snapper that made Mario world-wide famous 48 39 or send an e-mail to: – “By My Love”. Chingis Ausheev, Da- Red Snapper is notable for its pioneer- [email protected] vid Gvinianidze, Alejandro Olmedo ing synthesis of acoustic instruments (Mexico), Alexey Sulimov, Evgeny and electronic textures. The British Chernyak perform the most popular acid jazz trio Red Snapper comprises Saturday, 10th opera arias, Neapolitan songs and guitarist David Ayers, double bassist Ali Jose Carreras melodies from the films starring Friend and drummer Richard Thair. This name speaks for itself. One of the Mario Lanza. Milk Club, 20:00 most prominent singers of his genera- MMDM, Chamber Hall, 19:00 tion, and particularly eminent in the operas of Verdi and Puccini, Jose Car- reras has encompassed over 60 roles Wednesday, 14th on stage and in the recording studio. International Women’s He gained fame with a wider audience as one of The Three Tenors along with Club presents: Placido Domingo and Luciano Pava- Cocktail Hour rotti in a series of large concerts that Spouses traveling on business trips? began in 1990 and continued until Husbands caught in traffic jams? Profes- 2003. Enjoy the magic voice singing sional, working women in need of a about love, passion and joy. tipple after hours? Moms in need of a MMDM, Svetlanov Hall, 19:00 breather? Fear not! Hop on the metro and join us for cocktails at various bars and cafes around the city. Pop in for a quick drink or stay as long as you want. Chaplin Hour We invite you to enjoy the glorious The Vladimir Spivakov Invites Festival Moscow evenings at various restaurants, goes on. The National Philharmonic bars, courtyards, patios and verandas. Orchestra of Russia conducted by Kindly note that you will need to pay for Vladimir Spivakov, performs musical your drinks (and food). themes from Chaplin’s films. Bubbles Bar, 19:00 MMDM, Svetlanov Hall, 19:00 10/13 Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya

October 2009  What’s On In October Massive Attack (UK) is what astounds everyone who hears more details on the ship, please visit Massive Attack are a British music duo Zhanna Aguzarova live for the first the Volga Dream website www.volga- from Bristol, considered to be progeni- time. Evgeny Havtan, who introduced dream.com. The ship departs at 17:00 tors of the genre known as trip hop, as her voice to the world, other musi- from the North River Port at 51 Lenin- well as effectively being a wider collec- cians, and people who have nothing gradsky Prospekt. The closest metro tive including other musicians that they to do with music – everybody has spo- station is Rechnoy Vokzal. assemble. Massive Attack were among ken of that “goose bumps sensation” on hearing her sing. the most innovative and influential th groups of their generation, like Portis- B 1 Maximum, 21:00 Tuesday, 20 head, Sneaker Pimps, Beth Orton, and RBCC presents: Charity Tricky. Gala Concert with Globalis Luzhniki Sports Palace, 20:00 Symphony Orchestra Cathedral of Christ the Saviour Concert Hall, time tbc, contact: www.rbcc.com

Wednesday, 23rd Millionaire Fair Grand Opening Night 2009 The fair is not just for the very rich, it is open for everyone to enjoy, but obvi- ously it is the millionaires who will be making the grand purchases and filling International Women’s Club the event. The event is usually strict- presents: luxury cruise for dress coded and entrance is invitation only. Tickets can be purchased prior th members and their families to the event. The attractions this year Friday, 16 Come on board and enjoy a 3 day/2 included a $1 million phone encrusted Zhanna Aguzarova night cruise from Moscow to Uglich in diamonds, the choice to buy a house She has been hailed as extraordinary and Myshkin in luxurious style. Any on an , or the island itself and and nuts, mannered and brusque, but questions about the cruise may be sent £25,000 perfumes. it’s her voice that takes the cake. This to [email protected] and for Manezh, 21:00, also 24th-25th, 12:00

 October 2009 Holidays October Holidays text by Elena Rubinova Monday, October 5 Teachers’ Day Teacher’s Day is older in Russia than an international date that is celebrated under the same name. Between 1965 and 1994, it was marked on the first Sunday of October, but since 1994 it has been celebrated on October 5, to coincide with World Teachers’ Day set up by UNESCO to highlight the importance of teachers’ role and to commemorate teachers for their efforts. It is one other day besides September 1 when schools are flooded with flowers. Graduates and former classmates visit their alma maters and apart from being the day when we give recognition to our teachers’ hard work, this day is for informal and heart-felt interaction between students and teachers.

Wednesday, October 14 Friday, October 30 Pokrov Den Memorial Day of the Victims of Political Repressions Protection of the Mother of God Soviet political prisoners declared October 30 the Day of Political Prisoners back in 1974. They went on the first coordinated hunger strike and other protest actions, which marked the beginning of their resistance. The Russian Supreme Council de- cided on October 18, 1991, to proclaim October 30 the Day of Political Prisoners. In 1991 the monument to , called the Iron Felix, which once dominated Lubyanka Ploshchad across from the KGB headquarters, was toppled by a cheering crowd with the help of a crane. The event symbolized the end of the Soviet era and repressions. From that time on every year human rights activists, representatives of historical and educational associations, ordinary citizens come to the mourning meeting to the Solovetsky Stone installed at Lubyanka Ploshchad in the memory of those who The Feast of the Protection celebrates died in the . the day, over one thousand years ago, According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, some 800,000 people are consid- when St. Andrew, Fool for Christ, and his ered victims of political repression in Russia. The majority of them are children of the disciple, St. Epipanius, stood in church persecuted. According to Memorial, roughly 12.5 million citizens of the former Soviet during the Vigil Service and beheld the Union can be considered victims of political persecution. The liberal political and cul- Most-pure Virgin. Contemplating that tural elite condemn the repressions and accuse Stalin of being the main perpetrator event, we pause to consider the church of horrific crimes against his own people. Views of different groups of contemporary building, to consider who is present, toward repressions show a strong polarization of opinions among the elite, and who prays in the church. The Feast and an extreme ambivalence of the views of the general public. Communist and na- of the Protection of the Mother of God tionalist political leaders try to deny or diminish the impact of the repressions and reminds us that Heaven reaches all the glorify Stalin as a builder of a great country. The general public is caught between way to Earth. The Russian people have these two positions. On the one hand, ordinary Russians do not deny that the repres- fixed this event, which took place in far- sions were carried out On the other hand, a majority consider Stalin’s role in history off Constantinople so many centuries to be positive and believe that he was a great leader, under which Russia became a ago well in their memories. They have powerful state. made the day of its commemoration their own day, a Russian holiday in hon- Saturday, October 31, Halloween or of the Most-pure Mother of Our Lord The year’s scariest night, Halloween, has had a and Savior Jesus Christ. In times of na- difficult time in Russia for over the past decade tional misfortune, as in times of individ- when it desperately tried to take root here. It ual trials and sorrows, Russian people has certainly raised a lot more dispute and ar- rush to God’s temples, rush to the Pro- guments than any other Western tradition since tection of the Mother of God, and ask hitting Russia in the mid-1990s. There were years of the Queen of Heaven her protection when Halloween events lasted for more than a and assistance. At many difficult times, week in fancy Moscow clubs. City club-goers, Orthodox peoples have received help, foreign community members and Russian ce- comfort, strength, and salvation from lebrities all mingled together at the wildest par- the Mother of God. ties and spectacular costume balls: Russians are well known for taking everything Traditionally this day marked the au- to extremes. At some stage Halloween celebrations became a popular practice at tumn season of weddings in Old Rus- schools – but not for long. The leaders of Russian Orthodox and Islamic clergy de- sia and young unmarried ladies went to plored practices of Halloween, claiming that it was a kind of demon worship. Such Church to pray so that God would send harsh criticisms made the Moscow authorities issue an official statement banning them good grooms. The Russian omen Halloween celebrations in educational establishments. It is still an issue for further says: the more snow that falls on this day, analysis why this pagan festival with Irish roots brought from the U.S., turned out to the more weddings there will be this year. be so irreconcilable with Russian mentality and culture.

October 2009  Previews

Resident Tourist: Photographs by British Photographer, Henrietta Challinor

text by Peter Hainsworth genuinely feel Moscow has awakened The exhibition is an intriguing and in me a new thread of creativity that I eclectic collection of impressions didn’t know existed and in doing so it of Moscow. The color traditionals of has renewed and enthused my passion churches and the like avoid the “holi- for photography.” day snap” quality with their rich colors About the exhibition, Henrietta says: and well-balanced views; quirky an- “Moscow seems to me to be continu- gles show good use of original space ally evolving and changing, especially as well as irony and humour. Henriet- through the extremes of the seasons, ta’s black & white photographs show and I think my pictures tend to reflect sa brave approach to the medium, and those different moods. It is a wonderful encourage the viewer to look deeper opportunity for me to show my photo- into her pictures. graphs at NB Gallery and I am very excit- Henrietta has been living in Moscow ed. I hope that people will enjoy looking with her husband and two young sons at the city they live in through the broad for two years and “looking at life through canvass of my pictures.” a lens for the last five”. She says that com- Natalia Bykova, owner of NB Gallery ing from a quiet Oxfordshire (UK) village says: “I am extremely excited to have to live in Moscow couldn’t have been a Henrietta’s photographs exhibited at the more acute change of circumstances gallery. To be honest, I was a bit scepti- and that in the beginning she felt “over- cal when she invited me to view them at whelmed, and frankly, terrified”. her studio – Moscow is an obvious city to She was sitting in Moscow traffic photograph and many people do! But when she originally got the inspiration Henrietta’s photographs are different: for Resident Tourist. “At first I was just she has a remarkable talent for seeing staring out of the window, in a total state and capturing the nuances of the city, of shock! Slowly I started to look prop- things one sees daily and just passes by. erly, and began to enjoy what I saw: the She makes you stop and wonder about buildings, the people, the language, the colors, shapes and the subtle tones and cultural diversity. My eyes were opened shades that compose Moscow. Henrietta and everything around me started to has an amazing eye and that is exactly take on its own life. There isn’t anything what the exhibit is all about.” ordinary or straightforward about Mos- Resident Tourist opens on October 30 cow and at times it might be fair to say it and runs to November 10. The gallery can appear depressing and ugly. Yet, on will also be showing a limited number every corner there is something to sur- of paintings that complement the pho- prise, delight, appeal, make one laugh, tographic subjects. P or cry – even mundane everyday sights have become visually appealing – for October 30 – November 10 me that is its charm.” NB Gallery “I think Moscow is a city of enor- 6/2 Sivtsev Vrazhek, Entrance 1, Suite 2 mous diversity – and from that comes (495) 697-4006 a wealth of inspiration. Every day there Hours: Tue-Sat, 11:00-19:00; Sun, 12:00- is something I want to photograph. I 18:00; Mon – closed

10 October 2009 Previews Moscow Set in The Girl Who Stone: Daziaro’s Sold Her Soul Lithographs To The Devil The two Russian capitals And Won Moscow and St. Petersburg Before turning to con- as seen by Alexander Push- temporary art, Christoph kin and his contemporaries, Broich was an interna- are displayed in lithographs tionally renowned fash- at an exhibition organized ion designer. For the 3rd by the Pushkin Museum. Li- Moscow Biennale of Con- thography, a printing tech- temporary Art, Broich nique invented by Bavarian presents a selection of his playwright Alois Senefelder work in the unique set- in 1796 was a popular means ting of Dom Spiridonov. of illustration in 19th cen- Broich is best known The Pushkin Museum Dom Spiridonov tury . In the first part for his impressive sculp- of Fine Arts 9/8 Bldg 1 Maly Gnezdnikovsky of that century, hundreds tural installations which 12/2 PrechistenkaUlitsa Pereulok of printing shops all over take the form of casts or 10:00–18:00 October 15 – November 1 Europe, including Russia, ‘skins’. In his Kopf (Head) Open daily except Mondays 11:00-20:00 emerged. One such Russian series, the artist expands Until October 30 printing shop was opened his visual vocabulary by by Italian print maker Gi- creating a cohesive environment around a single element, useppe Daziaro who created color prints depicting beautiful the head. Cut up iconic items of clothing and fabric are col- views and panoramas of Moscow and St. Petersburg to the laged onto busts and then painted with several coats of la- delight of modern antique dealers. Interest in this sort of litho- tex. Upon completion, as with all of Broich’s meticulously graphic print is only now reappearing in Russia after the Soviet made sculptures, the bust is destroyed and the shell (skin) oblivion. For experts, the Daziaro exhibition is somewhat of a is all that remains. Broich’s skinned sculptures focus on de- surprise, as the Pushkin Museum rarely mounts an exhibition terioration and present the reversal of the natural process: of graphics in such a quantity. This exhibition will be a pleasant skin and flesh decomposing first and the skeleton remain- visual journey back to 19th century Moscow, as depicted by an ing. Suspended from the ceiling, the heads create an eerie Italian artist with great attention to detail. field of beheaded individuals.

Poligraphic From the Himalayas Department of to the Indian Ocean the Vhutemas- The Museum of Oriental Arts pres- ents an exhibition dedicated to Indian Vhutein. applied arts. Stone, metal, wood, cot- Teachers and ton and silk, sea shells and paper are Pupils transformed into artistic masterpieces The fashion for abbreviations thanks to inspiration from the Indian in the Soviet 1920s made some God Vicvakarman – the God of artisans. well-known institutions unpro- The current exhibition displays numer- ous exhibits from different regions of nounceable or even unrecogniz- State India – from Bengalia to Bastar and of State Museum able. For example, the famous 10 Krymsky Val differentera: animals-amulets and tal- of Oriental Art Stroganov Arts School was first 10:00-19:00 ismans, pieces of ornaments carved 12a Nikitsky Blvrd renamed ‘Vhutemas’ and later Open daily except in ivory, metal works of the dhokra 10:00-19:00 ‘Vhutein.’ This was unpronounce- Mondays and bidri techniques, sculptures and Open daily except able and even unrecognizable Through October 18 tomost Russians. Nevertheless, paintings. A separate hall is dedicated Mondays this institution was in the van- tofamous Indian silk and wool tissues, Through guard of visual arts and design in the 1920s-1930s. Its aim was famous all over the world for their rich November 15 to prepare a new generation of artists that would preach a new colors, techniques and ornaments. visual language to common people. The current exhibition dis- plays works of both teachers and students of this extraordinary artistic laboratory. Among the professors are such outstanding masters as N. Kuprejanov, I. Nivinsky, P. Miturich, V. Favorsky, who cultivated talented and genuine artists as A. Dejneka, A. Goncharov, J.P imenov, M. Axelrod, P. Williams, Kukryniksy and many others. The show features a variety of different genres, to form a mosaic demonstrating this artistic experiment.

October 2009 11 Previews Autumn Crescendo Crescendo is an annual festival held in Moscow presenting young musicians from Russia and other countries who are winners of various prestigious international awards. The festival is organized by well-known pianist and winner of the 11th Mos- cow International Tchaikovsky Competition, Denis Matsuyev. Unlike festivals sup- ported by other Maestros – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Yuri Temirkanov and Valery Gergiev for example that feature world celebrities – Crescendo gives young performers a chance who have yet to gain fame at international competitions in the West and who are almost unknown to Russian audiences. On November 1 there will be a gala concert divided into symphonic and jazz sections. The first will present composi- tions by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, Chopin, Rakhmaninov and Liszt performed by the Academic State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yury Si- monov and soloists – E. Mechetina (piano), B. Brovtsyn (violin), A. Gainullin (button Moscow Conservatoire accordion), D. Matsuyev (piano), S. Nakaryakov (trumpet), S. Suvorov (violoncello), Grand Hall and I. Fedorov (clarinet). The second part will be given to jazz tunes improvized by November 1, 19:00 D. Matsuev, A. Ivanov and D. Sevastianov. www.meloman.ru Lady de Disco Sophie Ellis-Bextor is one of the most refined ladies on the modern popular music scene. She composes her own music, mixing pop, disco and nu-disco and her al- bums have gone multi-platinum. Her career began in 1997 with an indie band called theudience and she sang a duet with Manic Street Preachers. But she attained even more fame after the band split and Sophie turned to electronic music. In 2000, the track Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) by Italian DJ Spiller entered the top of the British and European charts. The 2000 Best Ibiza Tune award predestined Ellis-Bextor’s suc- cess on the electronic music stage. Since 2001 she has released three studio albums – Read My Lips, Shoot from the Hip, Trip the Light Fantastic and Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) is set for release next year. A perfectionist, she is always extremely attentive to the quality of her music and performances. B1 Maximum October 22, 21:00 Bright October Spring Volvo Fashion Week On the schedule this year at the The first ever haute couture fashion Russian Fashion Week there is a so- week in Moscow took place in 1994, called Italian Day, supported by the which means that this year’s fashion National Chamber of Fashion based in parade is a kind of jubilee for its orga- Milan – the organizer of Milan Fashion nizers. In 2003 its name was changed Week. Designers from the U.S., Spain, to Fashion Week in Moscow, and it re- Denmark and Malaysia will be flying mains a key event in the world of fash- in specially for the show. The general ion, revealing new names to the audi- producer, Alexander Shumsky, highly ence and inviting star names among values new participants, saying that whom there has been Versace, Rober- despite all the financial storms, fash- to Cavalli, Costume National, Antonio ion actually becomes a useful tool in Berardi, Fendi, Vivienne Westwood, Ju- times of crises. For those who are not lien Macdonald, Emanuel Ungaro, Alessandro Dell’ Acqua, Paco well acquainted with the works of local Rabanne and Sonia Rykiel. The concept of the Fashion Week designers, a must-see list comprises of relies on the experience of international weeks in Paris, New shows by ARNGOLDT, Julia Dalakian, York, and Milan. The format presupposes daily briefings Tatyana Perfenova, Yegor Zaitsev, Ele- and conferences given by haute couture designers. In parallel, na Makashova and Irina Khakamada, Viva Vox, Elena Suprun, designers present their collections in showrooms. It means that Cyrille Gassiline, POUSTOVIT, TEGIN, Chistova&Endourova, the show is also a busy forum for everyone involved in the world Lyudmila Norsoyan, Anna Direchina, Personage, Mainaim, of fashion. And yet the principal idea of the event is to present LO and Olga Brovkina. As is the tradition, Slava Zaitsev will new names. In the last 10 years thanks to Fashion Week we have open the week with his show. become acquainted with designers who are now deemed fash- ion trend setters in this country: Igor Chapurin, Andrey Sharov, Tatyana Parfenova, Viktoria Andreyanova, Lyuda Dobrokhotova, Darya Razumikhina, Natasha Drigant and many others. Russian Fashion Week Congress Hall of the World Trade Center Gostiny Dvor October 17 – 23 October 21 – 26 www.rfw.ru www.fashionweek.ru

12 October 2009 Theater Theater Season Opens in

God of Carnage, the Sovremennik Theater Moscow… text by Marina Lukanina, photos by Sergey Petrov Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center Marriage and Other Horrors The opera center named after Galina Vishnevskaya will kick off its new season in October with the opening night of a new opera, Marriage and Other Horrors. This is a fantasy that com- bines a series of operas on Nikolai Gogol’s works – Sorochinzy Fair and Marriage by M. Musorgsky, Chistmas Eve and May Night by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Cherevichki by P. Tchaikovsky, and Nose by D. Shostakovich. Gogol always attracted the at- tention of the greatest Russian composers. Vladimir Mirsoev, the director of this performance, is famous for his theatrical works and original interpretations of Gogol’s stories. Gaft’s Dream retold by Viktyuk All the singers are also talented dramatic actors. You do not Gaft’s Dream… is quite the opposite genre-wise. This play always get to witness such well-trained voices and articulation is dedicated to audiences familiar with Soviet history. This along with theatrical talent in the opera. Many well-known play is Gaft’s experiment in the drama genre although he is soloists of the opera center will take part in this performance a famous poet and epigram writer. The director of the play, and, at the same time, for some of Galina Vishnevskaya’s stu- Roman Viktyuk identified the genre as “phantasmagoria”, dents, this opera is going to be their début. and was the play’s co-author. Alexander Philippenko, a guest October 23, 29, 19:00 actor of the theater whose outstanding talent and wit has Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center added a lot to the success of the play, was also a co-author. 25/1 Ostozhenka Ulitsa Throughout the performance he plays over ten roles – from a (495) 637-7703 drama playwriter Edward Radzinsky to the Communist leader (495) 637-7596 Genady Zuganov. http://www.opera-centre.ru/eng The play starts as so-called Uncle Kolya (played by Gaft) has a dream about Stalin (also played by Gaft). Stalin comes back The Sovremennik Theater to the real world to discuss his deeds. The play is pretty static, The God of Carnage with little action; sometimes it even resembles a radio play as The Sovremennik Theater created two notable plays at the the actors spend most of the time discussing the destiny of end of last season that will be performed this season: The God the Motherland and various related topics. of Carnage written by French drama playwriter Yasmina Resa Viktyuk calls this play “our contemplation of what’s happening and Gaft’s Dream retold by Viktyuk written by Valentin Gaft, nowadays, our pain that we want to share with our audience”. one of the leading actors of the theater. One critic called this play “a farcical understanding of the terror Yasmina Resa’s plays are popular and are staged all over the epoch”, which seems to be quite an accurate characteristic. The world. God of Carnage was named the Best Comedy of 2008 more you have read or know about “the terror epoch” before in London and received the Laurence Olivier Award. Sovre- watching this play, the more interesting it will be for you. This mennik acquired exclusive rights to stage the play in Russia. performance is definitely for someone with a high proficiency Yasmina Resa is an outstanding dialogue creator. in Russian and specific interest in history. And of course it is for The play takes place in today’s Paris. It depicts two married cou- someone who is a big fan of the Sovremennik Theater! ples who gather to discuss the misbehavior of one of the couple’s October 12, 20 child who beat up the child of the other couple and broke his tooth. Sovremennik Theater However, by beginning to discuss the issue that brought them to- 19A Chistoprudny Boulevar gether, they move on to elaborating on a lot more topics than they (495) 628-7749 originally planned. This psychological comedy makes you contem- www.sovremennik.ru plate on such things as relationships, children’s upbringing, profes- sional work ethics, etc. An excellent acting crew – Olga Drozdova, Sergey Ushkevich, Alyona Babenko and Vladislav Vetrov – the stars of this performance will make you laugh and cry. October 3, 13, 25 Sovremennik Theater 19A Chistoprudny Boulevar (495) 628-7749 www.sovremennik.ru

October 2009 13 Ballet Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the Tretyakov Gallery text by Evgenia Ilyukhina, Owing to the Diaghilev’s genius, the Irina Shumanova, sheer numbers of his productions and photos courtesy of Tretyakov ideas generated within the Russian bal- Gallery magazine let theater alone, are now scattered across the globe. Thus, any exhibition To mark the 100th devoted to Diaghilev demands the col- anniversary of Diaghilev’s laboration of Russian and Western spe- cialists and the participation of Euro- Ballets Russes, the Tretyakov pean, Russian and American museums Gallery (Kymsky Val, and private collectors. The show in Mos- October 28 – January 31) cow is part of an international exhibi- is holding a centenary tion project including two consecutive shows, at the Nouveau Musée National exhibition: 'Vision of de Monaco and at the Tretyakov Gallery the Dance. The 100th in Moscow. Anniversary of Daighilev’s The works at the Moscow exhibition Ballet Russe in Paris'. Don’t come from museums which are in posses- sion of the largest and most meaningful miss this. collections of Diaghilev-related material. Most items originated from Diaghilev’s Sergei Diaghilev is considered to be troupe members, and his friends and somewhat of a puzzle in the history of associates, each of whom had his or her the 20th century. He was involved, simul- own version of the “History of the Bal- taneously, in a vast number of creative lets Russes” to tell. Thus, the Wadsworth by private collectors, and only some projects. For many, he is not so much a Atheneum collection is based on a part of them are featured at the Tretyakov real person as a composite figure of the of Diaghilev’s personal archive, inherited Gallery exhibition. Because the pro- ideal impresario, in whom the talent of after his death by Serge Lifar, who sold it ductions were revived several times, an organizer was married to an excep- in 1933 after a financially ruinous venture there are replicas made by the artists tional sensitivity and receptivity to any in America. The most important acquisi- themselves. Sometimes these repli- innovation in art. Most importantly, he tions included stage costumes designed cas – materializations of full-fledged, was able to find financers. by Léon Bakst, Natalya Goncharova, well-rounded ideas – look better than It seems that every project this Henri Matisse, Juan Gris and Giorgio de the initial rough drafts. Such exhibits “20th-century Medici” undertook was Chirico, bought at London auctions in include the set designs for the 1920 realized. He had a unique ability to 1968 and 1996. production of the ballet Petrushka, inspire, bring like-minded individuals Diaghilev’s company worked almost on loan from the Bolshoi Theater mu- together and channel their creative exclusively outside Russia, which ex- seum, and costume sketches made in energies into the creation of new plains why Russian museums hold only 1943, from the National Museum of kinds and forms of art. It was largely odd pieces of his legacy. The only ex- Monaco. due to his efforts that Alexander Be- ception is the collections of sketches The surviving visual materials do not nois’ “self-education group” turned for some of the early productions, make for a complete picture of the dif- into the artistic association “World of such as Polovtsian Dances, Le Pavillion ferent stages of Diaghilev’s creative Art” (Mir Iskusstva), and the magazine d’Armide, The Golden Cockerel, and career. The first, “Russian” period is of the same title ushered in a new era The Firebird (of the 1910 version), which represented by spectacular sets and of book illustration in Russia. Diaghi- were begun, and sometimes premiered, costumes designed by the “World of lev was one of the originators of the in St. Petersburg. These items – sketches Art” artists. For them, just as for Rus- modern concept of exhibition work. of the sets and the authentic costumes sian émigré artists later, sketches of sets He organized a major show of Russian themselves – were loaned for the show and costumes were an essential form art in Paris in 1906, tracing its history by the St. Petersburg State Museum of of self-expression, valued as much as from old Russian icons to the works of Theater and Music, the Bakhrushin The- paintings. As for Diaghilev’s subsequent fledgling avant-garde artists. Still, “Di- ater Museum in Moscow, and the Glinka productions, fewer items have survived, aghilev’s lifework” consisted in the cre- National Museum of Musical Culture. and those that have are mostly rough ation of his ballet company: the famed Today many first-rate materials re- drafts. Working on his later productions, “Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev”. lated to Diaghilev’s company are held Diaghilev eagerly enlisted the services

14 October 2009 Ballet of the most illustrious European avant- Rite, in very good condition, from the garde artists, such as Matisse, Picasso, theater and performance collection Derain, Braque, and de Chirico. Sketches of the Victoria and Albert Museum for Diaghilev’s unrealized productions and from the collection of Olga and are one of the special highlights of the Ivor Mazure. The viewer is afforded exhibition; they include Goncharova’s a chance to compare two versions of pictures and collages for the ballet Lit- the set designs for the famous Firebird urgy, whose beauty and compositional ballet – one by Alexander Golovin and originality are unmatched, as well as her Léon Bakst (1910) and another by Na- numerous sketches for the sets of the talya Goncharova (from 1926), as well Little Wedding Party ballet. as two versions of sets for Sadko (Boris The layout of the exhibition is not Anisfeld’s from 1911, and Goncharova’s strictly chronological. Aware that it is from 1916), as well as Goncharova’s impossible to introduce the history of sketches for the iconic production of Diaghilev’s company in precise chron- The Golden Cockerel. ological order and to trace its history The closing section of the exhibition sequentially, the organizers arranged is devoted to the final period of the the exhibits thematically. This sort of Ballets Russes and affords Muscovites arrangement was “suggested” by Di- a rare chance to see works of Diaghi- aghilev himself. Every one of Diaghilev’s lev’s team of international associates. performances and tours was pivoted The most noteworthy items include around three ballet images: classical (ro- de Chirico’s splendid sketches for the mantic), exotic (most often – Oriental), Ball ballet and works of the acclaimed and Russian. Moreover, every season Di- artists André Derain and Pablo Picas- aghilev regaled the viewers with a new so. The exhibition is enhanced by the production – an “avant-garde ballet of opportunity to compare two versions the future” of sorts, whose style was of the designs for the Nightingale. Al- determined by a new form – a shocking exander Benois’ historical accuracy artistic treatment (of music, choreogra- and refined stylization competes with phy, and design). Henri Matisse’s loose metaphorical in- This thematic division of the items, terpretations of Chinese themes. however, is fairly loose. Like in the Bal- Diaghilev’s creation, the Ballets Russ- lets Russes productions, differently vorite ballet, which is still today a fix- es, was not only one of the most suc- themed materials are interlinked, with ture in the repertoire of many theaters cessful art ventures that for 20 years no clear-cut boundary between them. around the world. defined the fashion, style and character Thus, the theme of the “exotic Orient” The Russian themes, an essential of dance theater. The impetus for in- in Diaghilev’s art comprises not only and lasting feature in Diaghilev’s rep- novation and experimentation, given Léon Bakst’s fantastic Orientalia and Po- ertoire, are amply shown. Diaghilev’s by Diaghilev, went on to determine the lovtsian Dances with sets designed by first iconic production presented in direction and development of 20th cen- Nicholas Roerich, but also the ancient Paris – the opera – is tury ballet. Bacchanalias and the biblical Legend introduced as an “overture” of sorts Text prepared by the Tretyakov Gallery About Joseph, a work in the style of the for the Ballets Russes. Other items on magazine. Exhibition at the Tretyakov European Baroque. show include Roerich’s rare sketches Gallery, 10 Krymsky Val, October 28 – Jan- The show’s first section is themed for the Polovtsian Dances and The uary 31. Open daily 10:00–19:30 except around classical ballet. This section rec- Rite of Spring, and costumes for The Mondays. P reates the images of that illustrious im- perial ballet which Diaghilev, according to Larionov, showed off to the exacting Parisian viewers in all the splendour of its semi-centennial tradition. Portraits of the admirable étoiles of the Mariinsky Theater – Anna Pavlova and Tamara Kar- savina – seem to come alive in a unique recording of Karsavina teaching a class in a rehearsal room, at the same ballet rehearsal bar which is displayed at the exhibition. The first ballets bearing a distinctively “Diaghilevian” stamp are represented with a magnificent array of sketches and costumes for Le Pavillion d’Armide and Bakst’s elegant sketches for the romantic Carnival – Fokine’s fa-

October 2009 15 Film

Tsar Peter Mamonov as Ivan the Terrible text by John Harrison regions, and opened up new trade routes. Since his power rested just as much on religious as on secular grounds, he The film ‘Tsar’, starring Peter Mamonov and Oleg Yankovsky, tried to discipline the church by imposing his own messianic directed and scripted by , opens in Moscow in and authoritarian version of Christianity. Ivan was an erudite, November. Pavel Lungin is a self-styled, independent script- intense young man, and went about his duties as if Russia re- writer and director, one of the first to combine these two roles ally was ‘Third Rome’. His ideals were grandiose, aesthetic and successfully in Russia. The film stars Peter Mamonov as Ivan IV demanding. When he realized he could not turn his vision (Ivan the Terrible). Mamonov is a hugely talented, well-known of divine Russia into reality, he swung from self-denial into and reclusive rock musician turned actor; whose life is worthy orgies of sensuality and sadism. In 1560 Ivan’s beloved wife of a separate article. Oleg Yankovsky who sadly passed away in Anastasia died, removing the last restraining element on his May of this year, plays Metropolitan Fillip. Oleg Yankovsky was unstable personality. an extremely well-known and talented Russian actor whose Ivan’s critics accused him of excessive cruelty towards his career spanned five decades. He is most well-known by for- own people, including military officers. Ivan in turn practiced eigners for his roles in ’s masterpieces: Zerkalo the Machiavellian creed that cruel means were justified when (The Mirror) in 1975, and Nostalgia (Nostalgia) in 1983. sovereignty had to be demonstratively exercised, a philoso- ‘Tsar’ covers a tumultuous part of Russia’s history, when phy also used by Stalin and a host of other dictators. Moscow was transforming itself from being a Grand Duchy Ivan created a police force to uphold and enforce his re- to the capital of an expanding empire independent of the gime; the oprichniki. This was more than a police force; this Mongols. Aged 16, Ivan IV was crowned Tsar (derived from the became an instrument of terror over which he had absolute medieval European meaning of Caesar, or Emperor) in 1547, power. The oprichniki were given extensive territories in for- a title that his father Ivan III had intermittedly used (when he mer boyar strongholds in the Novgorod region. According could get away with it) after he married Sofia Paleologue, the to Geoffrey Hoskins in his masterpiece; Russia, People and niece of the last Byzantine Emperor. The young Ivan did not Empire 1552-1917, ‘the process was a not a tidy one’; Boyars grow up in polite society. He witnessed the reality of boyars who apparently did not display loyalty and devotion were struggling for power whilst his own favorites were eliminat- summarily executed on charges of heresy or treason. The op- ed, and came to power harboring a desire to curb the boyar’s richniki provided sources of taxes and personnel for the army, power and turn the image of supreme Tsarist power into re- at the same time they were subjects of an absurd circus. Ivan ality. He consolidated state power in his early reign: he cur- called those oprichniki working in his security force ‘brothers’, tailed the boyars’ power, improved direct taxation, tightening and used them as examples of the kind of Christian life that his grip on the army though ‘service estates’ and consolidat- he wanted his subjects to lead. They wore long black coats, ing the borders of his burgeoning empire. He also set up each carried a dog’s head mounted on a long stick (hence the the first printing press, introduced self-management in rural nickname Tsar’s Dogs), charged about on large horses, and

16 October 2009 Film

Oleg Yankovsky (as Metropolitan Filipp) kissing the decapitated head of his cousin Alexei Makarov were awarded special powers of investigation and arrest of apart in public by wild bears. In the end, the Metropolitan is anybody suspected of treasonous behavior. publically humiliated, exiled and murdered in 1569 on orders The film Tsar is set in the middle of this never-never land, of the Tsar. Fillip is today honored as a saint by the Russian and focuses on the relationship between Ivan and the Met- Orthodox Church. ropolitan Filipp who was one of the only people of influence In the final section of the film: ‘The Tsar’s Fairground’, Ivan’s to resist Ivan’s tyranny. The story-line is not historically accu- Russia bears the marks of massive mis-management. Many of rate but does convey the atmosphere and spirit of the times. the boyars had been evicted from their ancestral lands, the The film is split into four chapters, the first of which ‘The Tsar’s clergy was torn apart by heretical hunts, merchants and peas- Prayer’ opens in the 1560s when Ivan IV (Mamonov, beaky ants suffered under the burden of heavy taxation. Peasants nose and glowering eyes) is already an all-powerful tyrant deserted the land, and the Tsar entered the final stages of with his feared ‘Tsar’s Dogs’ which are goaded on by flash- madness and sadism. In the film’s closing scenes, Ivan stares ing-eyes and the sadistic Tsarina, Maria Temryukovna, (Rami- at an empty town square, and murmurs desperately and in- lya Iskander). The Tsar, who was already a certifiable [nowa- nocently: “where are all my people”. days] religious madman, is taunted in a Shakespearian way by The two actors seem to work naturally with their roles; Ma- how he will be called to account during the Last Judgment. monov naturally supplies the wild-eyed demonics, whilst He becomes increasingly paranoid about perceived enemies Yankovsky brings a quiet dignity to his man of faith. Both ac- all around him. tors are immersed in talent; the roles appear to have come After the previous Metropolitan resigns as a protest against somewhat naturally to both men. Director Pavel Lungin com- Ivan’s cruelty, Ivan encourages his childhood friend, a devot- mented in an interview with Passport in regard to Mamonov’s ed cleric Filipp (Oleg Yankovsky), to be the new Metropolitan, role: “I noticed that Peter could play Ivan when we were work- an office of immense power in Ivan’s Russia. Filipp agrees on ing on [the film] Island. It seemed to me that he has something the condition that Ivan rejects his evil ways, something that in common with the way Ivan looked, and Peter’s personality the Tsar is unable to do. is not alien to that of Ivan. Peter is a hugely talented actor who Conflict between the two soon starts in the film’s second is able to project himself into any role which he is given. I had section ‘The Tsar’s War’. The Metropolitan opposed Ivan’s no worries about him being able to play the part. I’d even say over-violent methods, and on humanitarian grounds con- that if it hadn’t been for Peter, I may not have made the film. ceals members of the Russian nobility accused by Ivan of If anybody could play Ivan the Terrible, it is Peter Mamonov.” surrendering the town of Polotsk to Polish invaders. After The director added that he wrote the script for Tsar with Ma- discovering these nobles hiding in a monastery, Ivan extracts monov in mind for the role of Ivan IV. ‘confessions’ of cowardice with all the sadism he is historically Tsar is first and foremost about the conflict between Ivan known for. Filipp is spared, but when he refuses to endorse and Filipp. Here we have the same issues of duty versus their death sentence, Ivan demonstratively has them torn friendship and loyalty to the regent versus loyalty to God as

October 2009 17 Film those documented in A Man For All Seasons, or Beckett. Ivan Ivan the Terrible when I was researching material for the film. considered himself to be appointed by God; “Ivan put himself I came across excerpts of his speeches, which are very strong. in a position higher than the Metropolitan. He could kill him, He said things like: ‘As a man I am a sinner, but as Tsar, I am he didn’t need the Metropolitan. He is the Tsar, he has direct right.’ The Tsar cannot be a sinner. In one respect it [the film] contact with God,” commented Lungin. But at the same time, was simply the story of the inter-relationship of two people, Ivan was humbled by the Metropolitan’s strength of charac- on the other it was an attempt to track down the source of ter. Ivan IV, however, takes this paradigm a lot further. Ivan IV Russian Autocratic Power which exists to this very day. The replaces determination with fanaticism and mental instabil- state wanted to replace God. State power wanted to become ity. His ruthlessness is backed up by limitless power. Ivan’s God, and demanded first and foremost the people’s love. Not instability fosters a duality in everything he does, as clearly loving authority was already a crime. The oprichniki were an demonstrated by the dualistic way he treated the oprich- organ which punished people because they didn’t love the niki and the ordinary people. Lungin commented: “From the Tsar enough. Ivan took this to messianic extremes; if the Tsar time of Ivan the Terrible, there have been, practically speak- wasn’t loved enough then there wasn’t enough bread to go ing, two Gods in Russia. One is the God of state power, which round, and livestock weren’t born.” defends any action the state makes, and then there is the The film cannot be said to be historically accurate; but then God of the people. And they are different things. This dual- please tell me what historical film is? This is Pavel Lungnin’s per- ity is very strong in Russia. There are two Gods, two truths, sonal view of events. For example the real Ivan the IV was 41 years two justices, two sets of laws. I saw this in the personality of when these events took place, not a toothless, bald old man. The surrender of Polotsk occurred many years after the Ivan-Filipp Director Pavel Lungin on the set of Tsar conflict. There is also no real hint in the film that Ivan was a very erudite human being; a highly accomplished writer and even one of the first Russian composers. This of course has nothing to do with whether this film is to be judged a masterpiece or not; these days it seems to be all about how many millions of dollars are spent on production, however making a film about Ivan the Terrible does beg comparison to Sergei Eisenstein’s film: Ivan the Terrible, which, despite being created in conditions of strict con- trol, is far more historically accurate as far as dates are concerned. In Lugnin’s other films where Mamonov has starred, historical ac- curacy was unimportant, but given that the subject matter of this film is highly sensitivity issue, why bother to use the name of Ivan the Terrible at all? To this, Lungin commented: “But this is not an historic film, it is an artistic piece of work. The period covered in the film touches on the most important issues in Ivan’s life, I know that it doesn’t follow historical facts exactly. But for me, Mamonov was more important [than the actor’s age]. “Ivan the Terrible is a key figure in Russian history. But Eisenstein made a film according to a dictate by Stalin during World War II. I don’t know whether he did what he wanted to do or not, but the film became aesthetic. Tsar is not trying to compete with Eisenstein’s film - it is talking about a completely different world. Eisenstein’s Ivan was more about statesmanship; whereas this was an attempt to get inside Ivan’s personality. I can’t say whether it worked or not, but I tried to do this. In the beginning I called the film: Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Fillip, but it seemed to me that that would be too academic. The name Tsar opened up wider horizons.” Being such a strong statement, the film opens itself to all sorts of criticism inside Russia, not least that of being simplis- tic. The film may well be sidelined to the art house circuit, the fate of many brilliant films labeled ‘non-commercial’; and a similar fate will probably await the film in the West. “It seems unlikely that westerners will understand what this film is all about, because these problems one way or the other have al- ready been resolved in the West. But in Russia these problems are not unresolved ,” commented Lungin. After I saw the preview of this film in June, I returned home to my flat in Moscow, where my wife had just started to watch Angels and Demons. What a shallow, tinsel production that seemed, despite its amazing technical and human stunts seemed in comparison to Tsar, which may, or may not have its faults. On an emotional and soul-level, where the Russians reign supreme, the film is magic. This is a must-see. P

18 October 2009 Art Biennale Explained text by Roman Khripko The Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art is now on and has taken over up to 50 exhibition spaces throughout the city. How can you not get lost amidst this artistic abundance? Here is a guide to some of the main shows.

Against Exclusion A good starting point is the project at the Ga- rage Center of Contemporary Culture: “Against Exclusion” curated by Jean-Hubert Martin. It’s not only that it is the biggest show in the Biennale that makes it so important; the exhibition is extraordi- nary due to Martin’s own conception of what art is. The former director of the Pompidou Centre has in- deed no exclusions when he chooses artwork for his shows. He is known for bringing non-Western and sometimes non-modern art to exhibitions where he hangs it alongside contemporary European works. Don’t miss the show where Martin mixes religious art (a no-no subject for European modern art) from Oceanic tribes with work from the best Western and Russian artists.

Garage Center of Contemporary Culture 19A Obraztsova Ulitsa Metro: Novoslobodskaya September 29 – October 10 www.3rd.moscowbiennale.ru

Russian Povera Definitely the first thing to see after the main proj- ect. This famous exhibition curated by Marat Guel- man has never before been shown in Moscow – only in Perm, which, thanks to Guelman, has become a Russian Bilbao. Russian Povera is a big collection of works of art created by a group of prominent con- temporary Russian artists using cheap materials like cardboard and raw wood. The idea has been taken from the Italian Arte Povera – a significant art movement in Italy in the second part of the 20th century. Not a completely new idea, Russian Povera is a breath of fresh air in the Russian art-scene and is regarded by critics as one of its most important events at present.

Krasny Oktyabr Art Space 6/1 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya September 29 – October 25

October 2009 19 Art

Tim Noble and Sue Webster at the Triumph Gallery Paris was the world’s premier arts capital in the 19th century, with impressionism and post-impressionism being the most influential art movements of the time. New York was just such a capital in the 1950s. However, it is London that has had the most prominent art scene on earth since the 1980s. And just as the French had its impressionists, English has its YBAs – Young British Artists; most of whom have since become celebrities and are now in their forties. The most well-known of them – art- ists such as Damian Hirst and Tracey Emin – are now very rich and, in the opinion of the curator Jean-Hubert Martin for example, are no longer producing cutting- edge art. Today’s British vanguard art, which is called post-YBA, has finally come to Moscow, represented by two Shoreditch-based artists, Tim Noble and Sue Webster. They are actually a couple and since the 1990s have been creating together installa- tions of rubbish found in and around London. The current exhibition’s centerpiece – “Scarlett”, 2006 – is a table with a pile of bouncing and vibrating doll parts. These plastic legs and heads are well sauced with blood. Other works are comprised of rubber masks of artists’ faces and a heap of rubbish lit so that it projects Tim and Sue’s silhouettes on the wall. The only video piece presented in this exhibition is Tim bathing in an aquarium in which he nearly drowned during filming, but luckily Sue rescued him. This art is definitely worth checking out, as these post-YBA’s may lead to something completely new in art and become as influential in the world art scene as post-impressionists once were in Paris.

Triumph Gallery 40 Novokuznetskaya Ulitsa, September 22 – October 9 (495) 662-0893 www.triumph-gallery.ru

All Sewn Up & Russian Breakfast in the Open Air Perhaps while in Russia you have heard of chastushkas. If not, you are in for a pleasantly shocking linguistic surprise. It’s something very Russian, like Russian vodka, babushka and Pushkin. Just read out loud this chastushka, brilliantly trans- lated into English by Maria Arendt: Fish in thick tomato sauce Floats in happy comatose Only me, pathetic wimp Have no f***ing place to swim So you now know what a chastushka is – a philosophical short poem, basically a Russian haiku, but usually shamelessly obscene, except for bowdlerised children’s ad- aptations. Even though Jean-Hubert Martin says that a visitor, or even an art connois- seur, is not obligated to know the culture of the country an artwork is from, you may still want to understand it. Maria Arendt incorporates our chastushka heritage in her embroideries by writing in each piece only the first two lines of the four-line poem. After you get to know about Russian folk poetry, you may want to learn more about what Russians eat. A follower of the famous 1960s Moscow conceptual artists Ilya Kabakov and Oscar Rabine – in the sense that they depicted everyday Soviet food – Maria’s sister Natasha Arendt is also a contributor to the Biennale; in her separate show she exhibits Soviet iconic food.

All Sewn Up The State Literary Museum 28 Petrovka Ulitsa (495) 921-7395

Russian Breakfast in the Open Air Museum of Architecture 5 Vozdvizhenka Ulitsa September 25 – October 10

20 October 2009 Art

Three other places you shouldn’t miss include the video art of Oleg Kulik, an artist famous for barking as a dog in the 1990s and for being the curator of a great exhibi- tion called I Believe during the last Moscow Biennale. Now he has on show at the TSUM Art Foundation a series of strange films that reproduce, or rather parody, a number of well-known Russian art works of the 80s and 90s – for example, a perfor- mance of Avdei Ter-Oganyan where he is chopping up orthodox icons. It’s a good place to absorb and learn about the whole history of Russian contemporary art in one fell swoop.

TSUM Art Foundation 2 Petrovka Ulitsa September 25 – October 25

Baibakov Art Projects is setting up a solo show of Luc Tyumans – an influential Belgian contemporary painter.

Baibakov Art Projects 3rd floor, 6 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya September 26 – October 10 www.baibakovartprojects.com (499) 230-3930

If you want to go somewhere with the kids, I recommend the Mark Jenkins show of sculptures made of sticky tape, especially since it will be followed by a master class. Mark goes around the globe teaching the public how to go about creating proper street art. The date and time are yet to be fixed.

Winzavod Center of Contemporary Art Bldg 1, 6 Fourth Syromyatnichesky Pereulok October 12-20 (you need to check) www.winzavod.com (495) 917-4646

October 2009 21 Architecture The Soviet Propaganda Park: Myths and Reality of the text and photos by Dr. Olga Zinovieva All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC)

Coming out from the VDNKh metro food and refreshments. Flowers, foun- ed with trips to the All-Union Exhibition station, one can immediately see the tains of fresh water made a short Rus- of Agriculture (VSKHV) as it was called at statue of the Tractor Driver and Kolk- sian summer look brighter and better. that time. hoz Woman (Sergey Orlov), a sculptural A well-known Russian fairy tale gave Visitors from remote villages were group, symbolizing the values of the the name of the Stone-Flower to one stunned by what they saw as it was so Soviet planned economy. This impos- of the fountains; fifteen golden naiads, different from their own lives. They re- ing piece of art towers above the clus- wearing the costumes of the Soviet re- turned back to their homes to advocate ter of free market stands and kiosks, publics stretch their hands towards the for the Communist future, convinced by selling music, clothing, pancakes and sheets of water around the Fountain of what they had seen, as well as by the hotdogs. The statue crowns the Tri- People’s Friendship. rich gifts from the organizers. Novels, umphant Arch (Innokenty Melchakov, The tradition of designing propa- songs and movies were produced about 1954), the Main Entrance to the All-Rus- ganda parks had not been new to Rus- this miracle, portraying it as the place to sian Exhibition Center, the virtual gate, sia. In 1775 architect Vasily Bazhenov, make friends, present the results of hard elaborately decorated, which once con- contracted by Catherine II, arranged a labor, exchange experiences and relax, nected the uneasy realities of Soviet life park (near what is now Aeroport metro eating the best icecream in the world.

The Main Entrance to VVC; architect: I. The Friendship of Peoples Fountain; architects: K.Topuridze, G.Konstantinovsky; sculptors: Melchakov; sculptor: S. Orlov; 1954 Z.Bazhenova, L.Bazhenova, A.Teneta, Z.Rileeva, I.Chaikov; 1954 with the Communist Paradise spread station) with wooden pavilions, which The most esteemed scholars presented over 136 hectares. It was designed as presented the narration of the victory success stories of national agriculture, a constellation of palladium construc- over Turkey through mythological sym- at the same time as villages were suffer- tions decorated with columns, porti- bols. Trade fairs had been very popular ing as the result of collectivization and coes, sculptures, murals, mosaics and in Moscow and Russia in general. The mismanagement. majolica, which housed pavilions of all Great London Exposition of 1862, fol- This venue changed its name ambi- fifteen Soviet republics and separate in- lowed by the International Exhibition of tiously from the All-Union Exhibition of dustries, handsomely ornamented with 1889 in Paris marked the advent of the Agriculture to the All-Union Exhibition commodities, which never existed in era of industrialization. Russia and the of Economic Achievements (VDNKH) in real life. They were produced to impress took part in most of them. 1959, replaced by the current one after and show how the Soviet people would However, Stalin wanted to have the ex- the collapse of the Soviet Union. Chang- soon live. hibition to promote the benefits of the es in political and artistic tastes have The exhibition had model farms Soviet regime, rather than individual impacted the design of the buildings, with lovely cottages, dairies, barns, commodities or services. adding spires, cupolas as well as con- veterinary services, offices, schools, The opening took place 70 years ago temporary glass constructions. Some- stables, and sheep sheds surrounded on August 1, 1939. The media coverage times it is hard to say what the original by orchards, vineyards and lakes brim- could still serve as a brilliant success plan was and who the architect or art- ming with fish. All full of life with farm- story of the national propaganda cam- ists were. Very eclectic and difficult to ers tending to cows, pigs, horses and paign. Competitions among collective maintain, it still serves as a permanent chickens. In the time of shortages, res- farms and individual farmers had been trade show, attracting business people, taurants and kiosks offered delicious organized and the winners were award- tourists and admirers of Stalinist archi-

22 October 2009 Architecture The Soviet Propaganda Park: Myths and Reality of the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVC)

tecture but mostly those, who come tistic image of the complex was concep- and stucco was manifested. Even the to do some less expensive shopping in tualized by a number of famous artists, plan of the park reflected this symbol Moscow. who kept being replaced as the result – you reach the Square of Agriculture Its first Master Plan of 1936 was de- of political reshuffles: El Lisitsky, known first, going along the Main Alley and signed by Viacheslav Oltarzhevsky, who through his projects for Russian and in- then into the Square of Mechanization, had spent more than 10 years in New ternational trade shows was replaced by where the statue of (Ser- York, studying high-rise construction V.A. Shestakov, famous as a creative the- gey Merkurov, 1939) once stood. One and dreamt of skyscrapers in Moscow. atric designer. His talent proved to be can find a small granite copy of this gi- However, on his return to Russia he got very appropriate for the melodramatic ant statue in the Sculpture Park near the a totally different assignment to lay out expression of Stalinist ideology. New Tretiakov Picture Gallery. a wonderland, full of miracles. Oltar- The park of 1939 got its most memo- The main pavilion of the current VVC zhevsky composed a sort of temporary rable statue of the Worker and Kolkhoz used to be the focal point of the So- entertainment park with the pavilions Woman, featuring the gigantic figures of viet ideology. It presented the Soviet constructed from wood. It was a very a man and woman holding together the constitution, the victory of Socialism complex and creative project, ready famous hammer and sickle. The sculp- as well as a successful march of col-

Sculpture on the Meat Pavilion The Culture Pavilion, former Uzbek Republic Pavillion; S. Polupanov; 1939 V. Lisitsyn, C. Chernobay; 1954

for the first show season of July, 1937. ture, which reached 25 meters towards lectivization and industrialization. The Three weeks before the deadline Stalin the sky, was created by Vera Mukhina. It building changed its artistic image personally postponed the exhibition for was originally placed on top of the 35- and symbolic configuration more than one year, as the place looked too mod- meter-tall Soviet Pavilion (Boris Iofan) at once, reflecting political fluctuations est for the Red Tsar. Some pavilions and the International Exposition in Paris in in the country. Built by Vladimir Shuko the entrance gates by Oltarzhevsky were 1937. The statue became the logo of Rus- and Vladimir Gelfreikh in monumentally torn down to be replaced with struc- sia’s largest movie studio: Mosfilm. Once austere forms of 1939 it was upgraded tures more appropriate for the tastes produced at an aircraft plant, it became with brass banners, sculptures and a tall of the fastidious client. In 1938, a state rusted with time and was sent for reno- spire surmounted with the golden star commission examined the construction vation. It is expected to be mounted on by Yury Shyko and E. Stoliarov in 1954. and decided that it did not suit the ideo- its new foundations in late 2009. Perestroika has changed the name logical direction of the moment. Oltar- After WWII several attempts were and the profile of VDNKh: it has become zhevsky was arrested and spent several made to open the exhibition again. The very difficult to maintain and run Stalin- years in Vorkuta. new wave of very expensive projects, ist pavilions with lots of stucco details His successor Sergei Chernishev, who which reflected the glorious style of the and cement sculpture. In order to sur- had received his education before the post-war Soviet Union with its heroic vive the VVC management has to mar- revolution of 1917 and had hands-on statues, laurel garlands and palm trees, ket space to retailers and also competes experience with classical principles, delayed the opening. Finally the con- with other exhibitors. These are new respected the work of his predecessor cept of industry was added to agricul- times and Joseph Stalin could hardly and followed his initial plan but made ture, and the idea to unite workers and have imagined the new economic con- the place look more spectacular. The ar- peasants, hammers and sickles, in brick ditions in which VVC exists now. P

October 2009 23 Media

text by Vladimir Kozlov es,” said Anna Semida, editor in chief English language press; this affects all Over the last year, the English press of Where Moscow. “The biggest one is the English language publications if we in Moscow has been facing major chal- a decline in ad revenues. Steps we are are honest about it,” Harrison said. lenges coming from a lack of finance in taking to cope with the crisis are more All the major English-language pub- the midst of a crisis and growing com- or less standard: cutting the number of lications in Moscow insisted on their petition from online media. All major pages and saving by preparing the ma- editorial independence, including The English publications in the city are still in jority of articles in-house. On the other Moscow News, which is owned by the business; maintaining that the challeng- hand, right in the midst of the crisis, we state-run wire service RIA Novosti. es haven’t had a major impact on the revamped out design and the magazine “We are independent, as we don’t be- quality of journalism and that they are looks better now.” long to any governmental or financial/ still providing readers with independent At the same time, some publications industrial structures,” said The Moscow news and entertainment coverage. say they have only benefited from the Times’ Son. “The Moscow Times is pub- “The economic downturn hit us just crisis. “The number of advertisers who lished by a publishing house with 100 as anyone else,” said Ekaterina Son, the appreciate getting the best value for percent of foreign capital. Thus, not only publisher of The Moscow Times. “How- their money has increased,” said Polina external forces but also commercial divi- ever, the impact on us wasn’t as bad as Pushkina, publisher of Element maga- sions of the publication itself cannot in- on average in the market. Our revenues zine. “In addition, hiring became easier fluence the editorial policy. In addition, from advertising declined by 20 to 25 as there are more qualified profession- more than a half of the editorial team percent, while the average figure for the als with reasonable demands available are professional Western journalists newspaper segment is higher.” in the market now.” with experience in leading international “We’ve seen our advertisement rev- Another publication, The Moscow publications, for whom independence enues drop considerably,” said John News, was re-launched in the midst of of a journalist is the norm.” Harrison, editor of Passport magazine. the crisis. “We are 100 percent independent,” Consequently, we had to cut back on Meanwhile, at a crisis time, the issue of Pushkina said. “No one controls us and everything: on journalists, on photogra- editorial independence becomes espe- we publish whatever we want. And we phers, on travel. But we are surviving and cially important, as lack of finances due have never had any problems with that.” there is light at the end of the tunnel.” to declining ad revenues pushes publi- “The only limits to what we can and “We are facing the same problems as cations to struggle for survival. “There cannot write about are the limits of what other publications and publishing hous- are more advertorials in the Moscow is interesting for English language read-

24 October 2009 Media

ers in Moscow. And that, believe me, is its current form will soon cease to exist, for obvious reasons we are focused on not always an easy thing to figure out, replaced by editorial teams focused on sales points at airports. On the whole, as there are as many interests out there collection, processing and organization our proportion of revenues from paid as there are people,” Harrison said. of quality information that would be distribution is no smaller than that of Despite speculation that the English distributed online. “Everything is mov- [the Russian business daily] Vedomosti.” press in Moscow may be subject to ing towards the Internet and mobile de- “The future belongs to free distribu- censorship, no evidence to prove that vises, so we actively develop services for tion,” Element’s Pushkina said. “We will has been produced so far. “The English selling our content in mobile formats, certainly continue to distribute our language press in Moscow is in some such as RSS, smart edition, i-phone and publication for free.” respects as independent than in many kindle,” she added. According to Semida, the situation Western cities I’ve lived in,” Harrison “Competition from the Internet is se- when the English press is primarily dis- said. “I don’t believe it when people rious, but instead of getting depressed tributed in Moscow for free is unlikely to tell me that the English press is cen- about it, we have to learn to use the change. “The English press in Moscow, sored here. Show me some concrete new media ourselves more effectively,” with few exceptions, gives an impres- evidence, please, we’ll publish it! Why said Harrison. “On the commercial front, sion of marginality and insularity,” she isn’t the English press being censored? I don’t personally see much chance of said. “It’s no surprise that the English I think, the answer is because we over- getting readers to pay to access materi- speaking community buys Western rate our importance.” als online but I don’t see why advertisers newspapers and magazines to follow Meanwhile, one major issue that shouldn’t pay for exposure on the Inter- the news. And local English language printed media have been facing in the net, and more than a token amount. One media is just a nice bonus that it is good last few years all over the world, Mos- thing for all of us to fight though will be to get for free.” cow not being an exception, is competi- the attitude that online ‘content’ is some- Meanwhile, for some publications, a tion from online media. how not as good as printed material.” combination of free and paid distribu- “It’s a big question whether printed Pushkina said that the development tion, or even a complete switch to paid newspapers can compete with the Inter- of her publication’s website is one of distribution is not out of the question. net,” Tim Wall of The Moscow News said. the priorities, although she doesn’t en- “The problem always is that if you turn “The problem for newspapers is that visage substantial competition from on- into a paid newspaper, how much of your they haven’t worked out how to make line media in the immediate future. “We circulation will you lose and how much enough money from the Internet, and are just taking preventive steps,” she of your advertising will you lose?”| said that is killing the newspaper industry. said, “so that if the situation changes a Wall. “It’s not easy to find your English I have no doubt that eventually some few years from now, we could be able to language audience in Moscow. I think, a new form will be found because so many turn into an online publication.” combination of free and sold is a good people are working on this, trying to find Another important issue that English way to go. We’re planning to launch a a commercial balance that works. There publications in Moscow are facing is subscription service that would include are dozens of cities in the United States, whether they should continue to be dis- delivery to people’s homes and offices, for example, that have lost their newspa- tributed for free, a practice introduced plus other benefits, such as discounts for pers or are threatened with closure, and back in the 1990s by The Moscow Times. our readers’ club evenings. Of course, it’s the same is happening in the UK and The newspaper itself, however, denies also a good idea to sell the newspaper at other countries around the world.” that it is distributed for free. airports and kiosks at prominent places Meanwhile, most editors and publish- “The Moscow Times’ distribution like Pushkin Square, so that people can ers of Moscow’s English-language pub- model is not free,” Son said. “If a reader go and buy a copy of the newspaper if lications agree that they should develop picks up a copy of the paper at the Ritz they miss the free distribution.” their websites, using the Internet rather Carlton Hotel, that means that the hotel “We would like to move towards a sit- than trying to compete with it. “English paid for that copy. In addition, we have uation when we would be selling our language readers, Russian or foreign a sizeable base of corporate subscribers publication,” said Harrison. “But we can’t alike, can and do receive information that pay for a copy of The Moscow Times make the step unless other publications from the Internet, and the future be- and The International Herald Tribune to make the same step at the same time, longs to the Internet – that is obvious,” be delivered to their offices by 8am. otherwise we will continue to bury our- Son said, adding that a newspaper in We have retail distribution as well and selves alive, collectively.” P

October 2009 25 Travel Yakutia occupies 1/5th of Russia’s territory, but it still remains one of the most The Hidden enigmatic and unexplored places of the world. Only several hundred tourists venture there every year and only a few dozen of them are foreigners. This is not Diamonds surprising as Yakutia is 7,500 kilometers away from Moscow and even further from St. Petersburg. But if you want to really get of Yakutia to know this country, Yakutia is somewhere you should consider visiting. text by Elena Krivovyaz photos courtesy of Russia Discovery and Rail Zalyalov

An ancient Yakut legend has it that God was once flying over Hunting & Fishing Extreme Yakutia and his hands got frozen (as well they might) so he Here are the largest salmon in the world, which can be dropped all his treasures. That’s why the region is so enriched found only in Yakutia: taimen or Tsar-fish, as locals proudly with diamonds, gold and other treasures, so some locals believe. name it. These fish, which inhabit the deep and cold waters But these are not the only riches of the remote land. Incidentally, of Yakutia’s rivers, such as the Olenek, can reach two or even Yakutia is one of the few regions in the world where the natives three meters (!) and weigh some 80 kilograms. Taimen are not still preserve their aboriginal authentic culture and old-time tra- that easy to catch; you need a guide, a motor boat and even ditions. This is the land where the oldest petroglyphic drawings a helicopter to locate them, which make such fishing tours were found and the first ancient human site was discovered. The rather expensive, however there is a great diversity of fishing indigenous peoples of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia’s other tours available in the lakes and mountains, at heights of over name) are the Sakhas, Evenks, Ukagirs as well as many others. 1,000 meters where the views are beautiful to the extent that They are used to Yakutia’s inexorable weather and many of them it is difficult to describe them. are devoted to deer-raising and stock-farming. They are the Hunting is alive and well in Yakutia, and you can join various bearers of the outstanding culture of the Far North as well. specialist tours. The most expensive is elk or reindeer hunt- Yakutia’s unexplored and un-spoilt wilderness can be seen ing. The Yakutia administration governs the amount of ani- everywhere: in the boundless tundra plains, in the primeval mals that can be hunted each year, and it is only possible to taiga and in numerous lakes hidden in the highlands. hunt there by permission or with special licenses. Yakutia contains a multitude of islands; rich with rare species like white bear, walrus and seal. The Northern Wonderland The continental part is densely populated If you happen to be an animal rights defender and don’t like by reindeers, brown bears, wolves, argali, such aggressive hunting games there are many other things to elks, musk deer and a vast collection of fur- do in Yakutia. One of the most attractive places and a doubt- bearing animals: blue foxes, sables, foxes, less must-see are ‘Lena’s ’ (Lenskiye Stolby) which stretch ermines, minks… The lakes and rivers are for tens of miles down both banks of Lena River. Many tourists inhabited by more than fifty kinds of fish come from all over the world to see this huge conglomeration like sturgeon, carp, pike and many others. of 200-meter-high rocks which resemble giants who came to Travel

the water to drink, and then turned into stones. This magnificent moth - Adam’s mammoth - was found in 1799 in the delta of landscape can be scrutinized by tourists when cruising along the the Lena River. Mammoths have become a symbol of Yakutia. Lena River on a cruise ship. Moreover, ‘Lena’s Poles’ are a unique If you’re adventurous enough you shouldn’t miss a trip to ecosystem and they were included in the UNESCO World Heri- the Pole of Cold. The absolute coldest point of the Northern tage List. You can start your itinerary from Yakutsk and it will take Hemisphere, it is situated in Oimyakonsky Uluss where a re- you two or three days to pass this stony magnificence. cord negative temperature of –71 Celsius was recorded in The largest city in Yakutia – Yakutsk, cannot be considered a 1926. Nearby, is the magical Lybynkyr Lake located in the megalopolis – there are only 300,000 inhabitants – but for Ya- mountains at a height of 1,060 meters. Locals call it the ‘Dev- kutians it is a whole universe, as for them a settlement of 7,000 il Lake’ and whisper numerous stories about a giant beast liv- is a town. If you happen to visit Yakutsk, you should visit one ing in it which eats people and animals. When you get there, of the most unusual museums – The Treasury of the Sakha you will discover a beautiful and unforgettable view. A trip to Republic. It displays raw diamonds and gold, as well as award- Yakutia reminds you that life is worth living. P winning jewelry. Many travelers choose Yakutia for the birds which are im- possible to see anywhere else. The Yst-Lensky Nature Reserve is a unique place where 250 different kinds of birds nest, in- cluding the rare black and white crane, a rose gull, a merlin and so on. Many of the birds fly thousands of miles here to hatch their baby birds. Yakutia welcomes everybody who is interested in birds and this kind of tour is very popular. If you a fanatic of Ice Age cartoons, then go to the Mammoth Museum. It is the only museum in the world where paleonto- logical exhibits are stored, studied and displayed. Yakutia holds a significant collection of almost perfectly produced mam- moths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, musk oxen, cave lions and others animal of bygone eras. The first-ever skeleton of a mam-

October 2009 27

Restaurant Review

Italian 1998 to open Portofino, one the city’s first Italian restaurants. He returned to Rome in 2004 to run his own restaurant until Country Gusev lured him back for Osteria this year. John was stuck in traffic on the Garden Ring but called to tell us to get some favorite starters and a bottle of white An- tinori Cervaro della Sala (7900r), an Umbria chardonnay with Tavern a touch of Grechetto grapes. We ordered a plate of assorted Italian salami (600r), and waited. text by Charles Borden photos courtesy of Osteria Montiroli

Osteria Montiroli was high on my “new restaurants to re- view” list, despite the financial crisis which keeps growing larger. I called Passport publisher John Ortega to ask about Osteria for this month’s review and heard, “I’ve been there the past two nights – are you free tonight?” It’s just a few meters in from the Garden Ring opposite Bar- rikadnaya, on the left side of Bolshaya Nikitskaya in a long, pale yellow, free-standing building. Osteria Montiroli is the latest from Restoranniy Sindikat, run by restaurateurs Kiril Gusov and Ivan Bronov, creators of Nabi, Bistrot, Oblomov and Beefbar. I was immediately impressed with Osteria, a kind of light, bright country cousin to Gusov’s other Italian restau- rant, Bistrot, which sits like a Tuscan villa transplant above the Moscow River. I find Bistrot, though lovely with an impressive menu and excellent cuisine, a little too ‘elitny’. Osteria seems more democratic, open, with high ceilings, large windows and a light, earthy pastel palette and ample breathing room around the tables. There is a smaller, quiet second floor din- ing room and a terrace out back with a rollaway roof. An osteria is a country tavern, casual and comfortable, and Montiroli hits those notes with its simple furnishings: straight-backed polished wooden chairs, marble top tables with designer placemats and homemade bread and grissini (breadsticks) coated with poppy and sesame. Massimiliano Montiroli, Osteria’s chef and namesake, came to Moscow in

30 October 2009 Restaurant Review

Traffic has been bad this fall in Moscow and two times in Osteria Montiroli one week the Garden Ring cramped up both directions by Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 60 late afternoon. Well, that gave us time to dawdle over the Cer- (495) 799-5590 varo and most of the salami before John arrived. He arrived for the pizza, Pizza al tartufo e mozzarella (650r), not really truffle but truffle oil, but an excellent thin crust Italian coun- try, wood fired pizza, topped with extra sides of arugula (100r) and prosciutto crudo – raw ham (300r). I ordered the Zuppa di lenticchie e calamari alle erbe (450r), a dark lentil soup with large crispy pieces of calamari, hearty and perfect with the breath of fall weather that we are now experiencing in Moscow. John asked for Insalata di polipo (650r), a delightful combination of warm potato cubes, tender octopus and cherry tomatoes. Across the room I noticed one of the waiters preparing a pasta dish over a large wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. In- trigued I asked for the same and out came the man himself, Chef Montiroli, to prepare my Tagliolini con gamberi e pomo- dorini, a thin, quick cooking pasta served with shrimps and tomatoes (650r). He placed some shredded parmesan in the hollowed out parmesan wheel, flamed, melted and stirred it until creamy and then slid in the lightly cooked pasta to ab- sorb the cheese, a very impressive show and the result equally so – highly recommended. John finished with several orders of Tagliata di Vitello (1000r) for the table, a thick, perfectly tender, roasted but medium rare veal fillet, thick sliced before serving over a plate of arugula. I was very impressed with Osteria; its ambiance was just right for me: unostentatious, simple décor and surroundings, good staff and lovely food. Many of Moscow’s best Italian res- taurants are somewhat sterile, but not so Osteria Montiroli: if not actually, one feels in Osteria the breath of a true Italian restaurant. It easily makes my list of Moscow favorites. Osteria Montiroli also offers its own homemade sauces and other products, which decorate shelves throughout the res- taurant. P

October 2009 31 Wine Tasting Russian Wine Country Update text by Charles Borden ing for a clean bathroom. As it turned out I spent the next six As you open this month’s Passport, the grape harvest is clos- years working with several southern Russian wineries. ing in Russia Wine Country, an area that stretches north and Fifteen years ago few Russian wineries had bottling capa- northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossisk to the Azov bility and most of those that did used poor quality domestic Sea, where about eighty percent of the country’s wine grapes bottles sealed with a plastic cap. Grapes were a mix of French are produced. The village harvest celebrations should begin varieties bred in the USSR and domestic grapes like the deep, by the first or second weekend of October. This is a truly love- dark Saparavi and the widely planted white Rkatsiteli. Russians ly time to visit Anapa and the surrounding region with its one did, and to a great degree still do, prefer sweet or semi-sweet hundred kilometers or so of golden sand dunes and beaches wines and that is what was mostly produced: the dark red, and mild weather. This is the “Velvet Season” and gone are sweet Kagor, the amber, honey-like Ulibka (smile), “portwine” the heat and summer crowds when “an apple could not find a and others. Dry wines included white Rkatsiteli, Aligote and place to fall on the beach”. Muskat and the red was mostly “Kaberne”. At that time virtu- True, there are other Russian wine areas: Dagestan, the east- ally none could compete in the intensely competitive interna- ern Stavropol region north of Mineralny Vody, and a couple of tional wine market. locations in the Rostov region to the north. But the sun and In Soviet times, most wine produced in southern Russia was land of Anapa, Temruk, Novorossisk and Krimsk districts of sent to bottling plants or as “wine material” to make sparkling the Krasnodar region, approximately the same latitude as Bor- wines in other parts of the country. The wineries were mainly deaux and Piedmont, have the potential to make very good if former state farms, but by then privatized and in control of not great wines. This extended wine region stretches across their own destiny. They were seeking new opportunities to the strait to the Azov Sea at Port Kavkaz along the coast of control and benefit from their hard work. the Crimean Peninsula. Wine has been produced in this entire area for more than 2,500 years since Greek trading settlements One Hundred and Thirty Years Ago were established near the coast. Anapa was then Gorgipia, and Though wines have been made in this region for more than remnants of the old walls are preserved near the city center. 2,500 years, the modern era began with the arrival of Prince Lev Golitsyn from France in about 1878. At that time Russia Fifteen Years Ago was the largest export market for French Champagne. French As I write this article, fifteen years have past since my first trip specialists had already set up along the Black Sea to try their to Russian Wine Country. My hosts decided we should take the hand at Russian production. train. When I arrived at Kursky Station at about midnight, I was Prince Golitsyn had grown up in France and did not speak warned not to speak – they had purchased a “Russian” ticket Russian when he took over production at the Abrau Durso for me, at a cost of about $1.25 at that time, a significant sav- winery near Novorossisk and Novy Svet on the Crimea coast. ings over the $35 plane ticket. I had expected an adventure, an At Novy Svet he conducted tests on over 600 grape varieties overnight train ride through Russia, and an adventure it was, 36 to choose the best for local conditions, and by 1900 he pro- hours of it, by the time I arrived in Novorossisk tired and look- duced sparkling wines that would win a prize in Paris. Novy

©Charles W. Borden 2006

32 October 2009 Wine Tasting

Where to Buy The following are notes about where to find Russian wines mentioned in this article. Chateau Le Grand Vostock www.grandvostock.ru or at Metro Cash and Carry and other supermarkets Fanagoria Winery (dry Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sau- vignon made from French clone grapevines planted in 1997) Occasionally available at Sedmoi Kontinent and other super- markets Mysakho Winery (wines from Mysakho and collection wines from neighboring Saook Dure, which is now closed) Svet and Abrau Durso today stand as national treasures in 51 Old Arbat (across from Hard Rock Café) their respective countries and both still produce some spar- Praskoveya Winery (wines, brandies, collection wines) kling wines using classic French methods. Stavropol Wines and Cognac Golitsyn died a few years before the Revolution. The vine- 12 Malaya Gruzinskaya Ulitsa yards and wineries were collectivized and most that exist to- (M. /Krasnopresnenskaya) day were founded after the Second World War. By 1980 the Massandra Shops (Tsimlanskoye sparkling wines as well as Soviet Union was the world’s fourth largest wine producer Ukrainian and Crimean wines from Novy Svet and others) P from grapes grown in Russia, , Moldova and Georgia. The next major event for the industry was the destruction 7 Zvenigorodskoye Shosse of around two-thirds of the vineyards during the Gorbachev 5 Oktyabryskaya anti-alcohol campaign of 1985. 15 Komsomolsky Prospekt

Today In fifteen years, changes in the industry have been slower than I could have imagined. One factor that cripples Russia’s authentic wine producers, is the lack of an appellation system like those used in Europe that restricts the use of geographic names to wines made from local grapes. Today, the amount of “Russian” wine that is sold outstrips by several times the entire productive capacity of Russia’s vineyards. In Russia, wine, treated conceptually as a manufactured product, can be labeled Russian because it is made in the country, though from imported ingredients such as bulk wine called “wine material”. I recall seeing a European exhibitor at the annual Krasnodar wine trade show with a display of essences for vari- ous wine grapes (e.g. essence of Chardonnay). Some southern Russian wineries have closed, many have been sold, and the remaining have modern packaging. How- ever, most are housed in Soviet-era facilities that are difficult to maintain in the condition necessary to produce world-class wines. No matter though, these wineries can sell their entire production to tourists during the summer months. Those wines don’t often make it to Moscow. Only one major, modern winery has been constructed in southern Russia that produces modern, international-class wines – Chateau Le Grand Vostock – under the management of a French winemaker. Two wineries employ fly-in winemak- ers, notably Fanagoria in the Temruk area and Mysakho, which overlooks Novorossisk. Abrau Durso still produces classically made sparkling wines. Tsimlanskoye Winery in the eastern Rostov region also makes sparkling wines, in particular a deep red, sweet wine from do- mestic grapes “in accordance with an ancient Cossack method”. Praskoveya Winery, far to the east in the Stavropol region near Budyonnovsk, makes still wines but it excels at brandies. Pras- koveya also sells wines from its 100,000 bottle collection that dates back to 1945. Russia has a couple of small, private produc- ers but unfortunately Russia’s regulatory climate does not yet favor the small winery industry climate of major wine producing countries, and that is so beneficial in up-and-coming regions.

October 2009 33 Book Review The Quest for Radovan Kardzic Nick Hawton Hutchinson, 225 pages, paper £14.99 ISBN 978-0-091-92568-0 by Ian Mitchell chauvinism of the Serbian government When buying The Quest for Radovan and the more muted but still unpleas- Karadzic you will get two books for the ant chauvinism of the extremely right- price of one. The first, which is about 25 wing Croat government. pages long, concerns Radovan Karadzic. Karadzic represented the Slavic chau- The second part, which runs to nearly vinism part of the problem in Bosnia, 200 pages, concerns the author and his rather as Slobodan Milosevic did in Ser- “quest” for Karadzic. It is inter-cut with bia proper. Milosevic died while on trial the main story in an apparently random at The Hague, while Franjo Tudjman, way. Fortunately for the reader, the pub- the arguably fascist leader of break- lishers have put the former in italics so it away Croatia died as a free man in 1999. is easy to differentiate between the two Karadzic’s case is that the Serbs are be- Delivering justice in cases of mass-murder parts of this anthology. ing “targeted” by the Court, at the insti- is never easy. In all mass operations ques- Radovan Karadzic is a fascinating, gation of the Americans, when they are tions of an individual’s moral and physical contradictory figure. He is now living in far from the only guilty parties. responsibility arise. The Hague, in a cell attached to the In- In this he may have a point, except that Lord Bonomy, who comes from Moth- ternational Criminal Tribunal for the for- it is the Prosecution, not the Court, which erwell in Lanarkshire, was far too polite mer Yugoslavia, where he is defending is responsible for deciding who should to remind the accused of the old Scottish himself against charges of war crimes, stand trial. The Court itself conducts its saying which is surely relevant to people genocide and crimes against human- hearings with scrupulous fairness and re- who dispute their precise level of respon- ity. These charges relate to his time as spect for the rights of the accused. Read- sibility for atrocities in circumstances like president of Serbian Bosnia in the early ers interested in following the proceed- that of Sarajevo: if you fly with the crows, 1990s when, it is alleged, he was in- ings may consult the excellent website, you’ll get shot with the crows. volved in the persecution and massa- which includes full transcripts of every The “quest” part of the title of this book cre of Bosnian Muslims and Croats and, hearing, and can be accessed on http:// relates to the efforts of the author to specifically, that he was involved in the www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic. describe the search for Karadzic, which implementation of — and I quote the It is obvious from reading the tran- lasted from 1996, when he went into hid- indictment — “a military strategy that scripts that even Karadzic himself un- ing following his indictment by the Tri- used sniping and shelling to kill, maim, derstands that he is being treated prop- bunal, until 2008, when he was arrested wound and terrorize the civilian inhabit- erly by the Court, supervized until last near Belgrade while posing as a New ants of Sarajevo, which resulted in killing month by the Scottish judge Lord Bon- Age healer and proponent of something and wounding thousands of civilians of omy. His complaints are directed at the called “Human Quantum Energy”. both sexes and all ages, including chil- Prosecution, which he accuses of trying The author is Nick Hawton. He was dren and the elderly.” to bury him in more documentation the BBC correspondent in the former But Karadzic was not always like this. than it would be physically possible for Yugoslavia from 2002 to 2008, so one He started his career as an American-ed- one person to assimilate. might be forgiven for expecting the sort ucated, anti-Tito psychiatrist and poet. For example, in the most recent hear- of precision, relevance and succinctness While Karadzic was a Serbian Montene- ing, Karadzic said: “I’m wondering wheth- which characterizes most BBC coverage grin, Tito was a Croat. He tried to unify er it is really necessary, in addition to the of international affairs. Sadly, this is not Yugoslavia by suppressing national dif- 500 witnesses, 40,000 documents, 24,500 the case in the “quest” parts of this ferences, which mainly meant muzzling exhibits, whether it is really necessary for book. Mr Hawton is interested mainly in Serbian nationalism. Karadzic’s rise to my learned colleagues over there – and I the three favorite subjects of every un- power came when that policy failed am acting as lead Defence counsel here dergraduate Creative Writing student: and, in 1991, the country broke apart. – is it necessary to have four more people me, myself and my shadow. His personal Bosnia became the flash-point be- who have passed away whom we cannot narrative is trivial stuff and can largely cause it was so mixed, containing large cross-examine, is it necessary to bring in be skipped, though there are odd bits, populations of Orthodox Serbs, Catholic their statements and testimony here into like the description of Mladko Radic’s Croats and Muslims. In almost any part court, with another 300-odd exhibits?” “Dr No”-style hideout, and a few en- of the world that would have presented On the other hand is the fact that thou- counters with Lord Ashdown, the Unit- difficulties. In Bosnia, these difficulties sands, perhaps tens of thousands, of peo- ed Nations High Representative in the resulted in war, genocide and terror on a ple died as a result of the actions of forces former Yugoslavia, which are interest- mass scale due, essentially, to the Slavic which Karadzic nominally commanded. ing in a gossipy sort of way. P

34 October 2009 Out&About

CERBA annual general meeting and a joint event with ABIE

On August 27 a CERBA Moscow chapter held an Annual General Meeting which took place at the Marriott Grand hotel. The event was also a joint networking reception with the Australian Business In Europe (ABIE) association. This event was generously spon- sored by BHP Billiton, the world’s largest HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min- ing” \o “Mining” mining company as a main sponsor and a Canadian natural gas com- pany Rabaska as a co-sponsor. The Australian Ambassador to Russia Margaret Twomey and the Canadian Ambassador to Russia Ralph Lysyshyn both attended the event and delivered speeches about a Canadian – Australian – Russian cooperation and friend- ship. The event was very well attended, we had over 150 guests.

Aliye Parusa and Passport

Passport people past and present attended the opening of a fascinating photo ex- hibition by Svetlana Privalova at the Aliye Parusa yacht club on the Moscow River on September 10. Passport’s recent advertising manager Ramkumar was one of the five expats who were the subjects of Ms Privalova’s pictures. The highly professional orga- nizer of the event was Anna Kulyagina, who was Passport’s acting editor in 2008. Giv- en the yacht club location, it was appropriate that John Bonar, Passport’s sometime editor was there too, doing his famous Long John Silver impression. We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the river, which was nice as Aliye Parusa really means Red Sails. While admiring the view from the terrace, I spotted George Voloshin and asked him what he was doing now that he was no longer managing director of Passport. He leaned over to me and said, “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you afterwards.”

Mexico Celebrates its Independence

The 15th of September is a significant day in Mexico, that’s why it is always celebrated at the Embassy of Moscow at 4 Lavrushinsky Pereulok. This year, Mexico commemorated the 199th anniversary of the independence of Mexico. The courtyard of The Embassy was filled with guests from early evening till late at night. Guests were greeted by the ambas- sador Alfredo Pérez Bravo and his wife Mrs. Julieta Cervantes. There were many attendants from many other embassies, like Ecuador, Argentina, the USA and even the Norwegian embassy. Guests were entertained by the Mexican musicians in sombreros and danced right on the grass. There were a lot of delicious and spicy Mexican food, rivers of tequila and Margarita cocktails. All the guests raised their glasses for Mexico: “Viva, Mexico!”

St. Andrews Church Fete Society of Russia, which had raised the money at its recent Stramash (see sepa- rate article). The society and the church are not related, sharing a name only because St. Andrew is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia, and it was Scottish money which built the church in the late nineteenth century. By co-in- cidence Ms Pringle is also Scottish. But the entertainment was, as she pointed out in her opening remarks, more Eng- lish, as they featured tugs of war, egg and spoon races, throwing wet spong- Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Russia, es at the vicar, tombola stalls, home Anne Pringle, opened this year’s fete baking, cream teas and so on. They did at St. Andrews Church, the center of not, however, go as far as the cow-pat English-speaking Christian worship in bingo which Her Excellency said she Moscow, in Vosnesensky Pereulok, not had heard about at one fete in the West far from Pushkinskaya. The ceremony Country. Cows, of course, are a rarity in featured the ceremonial presentation central Moscow. But bright sunshine in of a giant cheque for 50,000 rubles to late summer is not, and the least Brit- the church restoration fund by Alan ish aspect of the event was the glorious Thompson, chieftain of the St. Andrews weather.

October 2009 35

Out&About Stramash text by Ian Mitchell guests were piped across the water by Kitezh Children’s Community, who also photos by Don Craig Vladimir Lazerson and met with a 100- had a table describing their activities. On the afternoon of Saturday, August prize tombola, just to get everyone in a Later some of the children performed 29 the Scottish community in Moscow, generous mood. At the next table was a a medley from Jesus Christ Superstar in and its friends, gathered for a Stramash Scottish quiz designed to establish who English. on the island in the Krasnaya Presnya was most worthy of the prizes which Then the music started. Expat bands, Park, near the World Trade Center descended from the winner’s bottle of who play regularly round Moscow, in- on the Moscow River. What is a “stra- 18-year-old Glenfiddich. And anyone cluded Red River Trails, Dr Nick, Mail mash”, many people asked? It is a kind who felt empowered by consumption Order Bride, and finally Babette. In the of slightly out-of-control party which of Scotland’s amber gold could indulge intervals between sets, there was what goes beyond a ho-ro-gheallaidh, but in a bout of arm wrestling with a Russian many guests thought the highlight of stops short of a stooshie. Got it? If not, female team who took on all-comers, the event, namely the country danc- you cannot have been there, because usually successfully! ing. This was organized by the Moscow anyone who was will now know what a Other attractions were a show of based Shady Glen and many of those great stramash amounts to. dogs by the Russian Biewer Society, present joined in, doing céilidh favor- A good part of the day’s success was the “Grouse girls” who poured famous ites like the Dashing White Sergeant, due to the generous sponsorship of Fa- drams for anyone wise enough to ask for the Gay Gordons and a spirited Strip mous Grouse, Pepsi-Cola with Irn Bru, one, a wine tasting by Château le Grand the Willow. Pilsner Urquell beer, Château le Grand Vostock, and an informal distribution of The dancers from Shady Glen put on Vostock, Moevenpick and Grants whis- Grants 12-year-old whisky to persistent a demonstration of Highland dances too, ky, all of whom provided either free li- inquirers at the quiz stand. including the Swords. The applause was bations, both alcoholic and otherwise, The main proceedings were opened loud and long, not least because, the or prizes for the competitions, or both by Alan Thompson, Chieftain of the St. organizers said, there were more Rus- of these. The catering was provided by Andrews Society of Russia, who was sian guests than in former years, and all the Moscow restaurant, Navarros, who splendidly attired in the feileadh beag, seemed to enjoy the Scottish hospitality. catered for 500 people. The other main or informal Highland kilt, which is loose- Readers who would like to participate sponsor was the CDM Group which ar- ly cut to permit easy leaping from crag to in other St. Andrews Society events, ranged the bands. crag for the purpose of chasing English should log on to the website at www. Luckily the weather held out so every- invaders or one’s neighbor’s livestock. scottishmoscow.org. The next fixture is one could enjoy the music, the food, the The society donated all funds raised by the St. Andrews Night Ball on December drink and the dancing. As they arrived, the event to local charities including the 5 at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki. P

36 October 2009 Out&About

October 2009 37 Real Estate Your Moscow (4) North: Around the Olympic Parks & Prospekt Mira The fourth of an essential guide text and photos by Ross Hunter to favorite residential areas

38 October 2009 Real Estate

Moscow is a big city. Sometimes, the big streets and the big vistas are the best. By contrast, the areas to the north of Moscow are not at their best seen from the main roads. The Garden Ring – Sucharevskaya Sad – and the 3rd are unremitting rivers of traffic and if there is time to look at the view, which is unlikely, concrete and tarmac dominate. Prospekt Mira makes a promising start, going north, but after the eponymous metro, it soon degen- erates into down-at-heel shops and worn street furniture, and Oli- misky Prospekt is modern, wide and boring. The area is changing rapidly, as modern business developments are expanding. To find the charming, peaceful and enjoyable areas worth liv- ing in, it is vital to get behind the big façades and explore the leafy back streets. On either side of the Garden Ring, and from Novo- slobodskaya to Prospekt Mira, there is a splendid set of quiet and relaxing areas, with an abundance of green spaces in which to relax. There are places for children to play, couples to stroll, and every organized attraction from open air concert spots, paddling and boating ponds to tennis courts and formal gardens. The atmosphere is very different to other parts of Moscow. Without perhaps the prestige of Patriarshiye Prudy (Passport, July), the historical interest of Taganskaya (August) or the in- timate charm of Zamoskvorechye (September), the north has its own mixture of landscapes and attractions. As well as parks and trees, the area is extremely well blessed with hospitals, clinics, retirement homes and public service buildings, which may be reassuring. More sybaritically, there is a wide variety of good value restaurants, including Chinese, Japanese, French and more, notably around Mendeleyevskaya and to the Chis- tiye Prudy side of Tsvetnoy . Karetnye, west of the circus, offers historical interest as home to Moscow’s 17th and 18th century carriage building craftsmen. Pick your own cul- tural favorite: we find The Garage is repeatedly stimulating. Finding a promising building with a flat to let or to buy should not be too difficult. There are enough pre-Revolu- tionary buildings to ensure solid walls and high ceilings, and modern developments that are up to expat expectations. The buildings in the side streets around Samotechnye are of notably good quality, having been built for the better ech- elons of the Soviet ‘nomenklatura’. Prices are estimated to be easier than neighboring Chistiye Prudy to the east, and

October 2009 39 Real Estate certainly much less eye-watering than around Tverskaya to know. I will be more than happy to update my opinion and the west. However, by the same token, this sector lacks the correct the record. And if you live elsewhere, please give me focus or cohesion of those two most ‘desres’ districts: there your input before I potter round your patch with my camera, is no sense of being in an identifiable place, still less of an ur- notebook, and bike. Thank you! ban village community. Many of the best lanes are bifurcat- ed, split asunder even, by the Garden Ring. Even where this The special bits: is not a total physical barrier, the concrete overpass makes it Ekaterinsky Park makes a long green wedge of calm more Paddington than Notting Hill; more Bronx than Green- and fresh air stretching out of Moscow, especially as it extends wich. My special correspondent in the area, strategically from the . placed overlooking the great slick road, reports that the te- More Green Bits The botanical gardens off Prospekt dium of every day’s sclerotic congestion is only relieved in Mira, Dietskiy Park, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and a bit to the west the wee small hours by 150+ km/h speed trials and races. the Hermitage Gardens await your playful inspection, not to Note: I have explored it as much as I can, and enjoyed cy- mention a host of smaller squares. cling all around the area at weekends, but I don’t live there: if The Olimpisky Stadium and swimming complex I have missed a patch of paradise, a slice of nice, please let me are great edifices, despite the area around them deserving better. Eurovision was one thing, the tatty discount shops be- low are ‘null points’. Streets Prospekt Mira, Olimpisky Prospekt, Sretenka and its side streets, Tsvetnoy Boulevard – medical centers in abun- dance, diversity of restaurants, and plenty of cakes and cir- cuses. Buildings & Statues Tick them off as you go: The So- viet Army Theater and Army Museum opposite it; the old cir- cus (named after the famous Soviet-era clown, Nikolin); Victor Vasnetsov’s house-museum; The Garage – modern art in an art deco bus depot. The Best Metro Stations Novoslobodskaya with its delightful illuminated stained glass arches, and its twin sister Mendeleyevskaya sporting gilded stalactites, modelling the molecules you remember from school chemistry.

Nearby? If you like this area but can’t find what you want… keep asking your favorite estate agents! Otherwise, try further north for more greenery; west or east for more characteristic neighborhoods; or further in for a truly city experience. Verdicts: “There? There’s no ‘there’ there” – Dorothy Parker (by teleportation) “Pleasant enough, but not really family friendly” “Handy for the city and major places of interest” Top 10 +/- The list of all that matters most 1 Plenty of pleasant leafy places to live… 2 … without any focal point or sense of place; 3 With so many hospitals, clinics, dentists and medical centers it is a waste to be well; 4 Possibly the best assortment of inner city parks and gar- dens… 5 … but still more bonsai rather than home on the range; 6 Handy for the Sheremetyevo Airport Express – 7 but at the mercy of endless traffic roaring past; 8 Lots of good value eating places – if you know where to find them; 9 Much of Moscow’s best culture within easy reach: only 3kms from the Kremlin. 10 Unmissable: Nothing, really. A convenient but hardly com- pelling zone.

Thanks! I am indebted to the following, and more, for their expert and local insights: RWH at the BBC; Anna at www.eolia-relocation.ru and EIS parents www.englishedmoscow.com

40 October 2009 Column Paying through the phone rather than the nose

Ian Mitchell alise they, too, are annoyed with life in the stationary lane. I may be in the minority in mall-mad Moscow, but I do try But at least they have credit in their phones. You don’t. So to spend at least part of my life in places where it is physi- what do you do? cally impossible to make a cash transaction, like topping-up Until recently, your only option would have been to sit one’s mobile phone, because there is not a payment terminal, quietly, close your eyes and switch on the CD of meditation phone shop or supermarket in sight. chants which Swami Borden sold you at your last Maharishi In bed, for example. Even if I wake up and put on my dress- class. That would undoubtedly calm your karma, but would it ing-gown and slippers, I cannot conveniently get to a termi- get your message through to Charles about your revised ETA nal. Likewise at the . Occasionally on the weekends, I like at the wine-tasting, which you are now heading for at a break- to forsake the mall for the peace of the countryside. I have yet neck 0 kms/hour? Obviously not. to find a forest or lake provided with a payment terminal. And Until recently, I said. But now MTS has come to your rescue. how often does one find, when travelling around the country, You can set up an account called MTS-Pay and top up your that one is in a car which the owner has failed to equip with an phone while sitting calmly in your car listening to the cool on-board QiWi terminal? echoing of the galaxies and the tinkling of Tibetan prayer The same is true of busses, trolley-busses, marshkutki, elek- wheels. Nothing, I find, soothes the trauma of parting with trichki and aeroplanes. And I have yet to find a terminal in a money like the sound of Tibetan prayer wheels, especially Church. One does not, after all, want to have to interrupt one’s when accompanied by the massed car horns of Moscow Sabbath devotions in order to go outside and look for a way blowing out of tune in the background. of topping-up one’s phone when one has suddenly realised, And there is more! Hitherto, all the ways of paying, short half-way through the Creed, that one has left one’s lunch of going into an MTS shop and a few other specialist outlets, cooking in the oven and one’s wife is likely still to be asleep, cost you a wicked 4% commission—sometime more. And it is with her nose on stand-by and therefore unaware of one’s not unknown for the machine to swallow your money and not mistake, or sin. pass on the credit. Being able to top up your account with- The bottom line is that, unless you are one of the intellec- out paying commission is more secure as well as cheaper. It tual elite who has managed to figure out how to open a credit will save you money, time, hassle, blood-pressure and tooth- account with your service provider, you are likely to be in a gnashing. position where, telephonically-speaking, your are from time And there is even more! Through MTS-Pay you can trans- to time going to be caught short. Remember the old adver- fer credit from your bank to a number of different ser- tisement for the well-known credit card: “When you need it, vice providers, like your email and digital television host, you REALLY need it.” or your domestic electricity supplier. And you can do all How many times in the last year have you had to phone this by SMS, at a cost of only 10 roubles per transaction, someone to tell them that you cannot find the building you while sitting in your car listening to those prayer wheels; are supposed to be meeting them in, then discovered that or kneeling in Church, apparently reciting the Creed. What you do not have credit in your phone? could be better? What do you do? You look round for a terminal, and The only improvement I can imagine is a mechanism that see only half-derelict factories, guarded by hysterically- enables you to pay-as-you-sleep. But until that is invented, barking dogs and surrounded by completely derelict La- we will have to content ourselves with MTS-Pay, about which das and Volgas. Elsewhere you might see the high, blank you can find further details on the website:http://www.vis. walls of video-monitored , and find yourself mtsgsm.com/payment/ P listening, in rising hysteria yourself, to the snoring of chauffeurs as they lie slumped behind the wheels of their masters’ black BMWs or Bentleys. And it is raining. And you are desperate to get to that meeting because it is cold on the street and the tea you drank at the last meeting is demanding immediate transmission to the Moscow sewerage system. There is not a phone shop in sight! Koshmar! Caught short indeed! There are many other situations in which similar agony is experienced, a common one being when you can actually see a shop or payment machine but cannot get to it, for example when you are sitting still in a never-ending traffic jam. There is nowhere to park near the shop and, even if there were, you could hardly move an inch, and certainly not across five lanes of angry Muscovites who are blowing the horns of their red Mazdas in order to make sure you re-

October 2009 41 Community

Lundbeck United in their sparkling new kit From Journalist to Footballist

text by Nick Rees brought in players like Umut Ala who’s one of the leading goal scorers in the league’s history. He does squeal a bit Usually journalists like to look scruffy, untidy, un- when anyone even pretends to tackle him but he’s a great kempt and undernourished and their team made guy and smiles like a grinning dog eating peanut butter sure that tradition was kept with, in its entirety. Whilst off a wire brush. normally a team would have one strip and one color, Scoring goals helps win games but not if your opposi- The Moscow Times team looks as colorful as a rain- tion scores more than you and that, for many years, was bow seen through the eyes of an LSD addict. their Achilles heel. Lundbeck often scored many goals but As with most things in life, if you look good and couldn’t keep the back door closed for long enough to win feel good, the results are usually not so bad! The a game. Moscow Times team lost a lot more than they won. Scoring against them was a bit like the popular American Kit sponsorship eventually came via Antal In- tradition of fathers chasing kids around with power tools – ev- ternational whose name they carried for a few eryone knows it’s wrong to do it but it just seems to happen. years. A game against “Antal” would usually be Things started to improve dramatically when Patrick was a mixed one – they were strong, physical, orga- joined in defense by the greatest goalkeeper to have ever nized and full of hope but there was always one come out of Canada – Mike McKinney. Mike’s a great keeper, ingredient missing. always happy to have a good laugh but don’t try to mess with The founding father of the team is a very pleas- him when he’s got his keeper’s gloves on! Many men have ant American called Patrick Henry. Being a Brit my- tried and failed – if you’re going to run with the big dogs, self, we normally laugh when American’s talk about you’d better learn how to pee in the tall grass. “soccer” but Patrick can give as good as he gets. Also in defense is the player with the least American name Without wanting to embarrass him (well, that’s not in the team – Sasha Gorlov. Ask any striker which player has quite true), he really is a gentleman of his word and got the sharpest elbows and they will give you the name of as the league managers got to know him, he grew one person! Sasha’s now a good organizer of his defense and on us like E.coli on a chunk of room-temperature has turned them into a difficult team to beat. The previous Canadian beef. team was probably as sharp as a bowling ball – now they are As Patrick started to recruit more and more a ruthless, efficient and very effective unit and much credit players and got new sponsorship from Lund- must go to the perseverance of Patrick, Sasha and Mike. beck (a Scandinavian pharmaceutical company Up front, Umut continued as the one man goal-scoring with operations in Moscow), their results started machine and was recently aided by the signing of a huge to improve. Patrick’s organizational skills, lead- German-Brazilian (yes, imagine the combination!) called An- ership and popularity eventually paid off as they dreas Toscano. To give him credit, he’s a real handful to try

42 October 2009 Community

If you’re a reasonable expat footballer, interested in joining the league, aged 28 or over, please go to www.moscowfoot- ball.com and click on the link. We have a new, 10th team start- ing up so there are opportunities for all! P

and stop and uses his 3 meter height to win everything in the air. He leaps like a salmon on cocaine and hangs in the air in much the same way that bricks don’t! What was missing from their team for a long time was a quick midfield and Jens Hoyer’s addition more than made up for it. He’s faster than a record-breaking greyhound with a bee up his rear! His speed with the ball at his feet is a joy to watch and he’s had many a defender as confused as a moth on the Las Vegas Strip at midnight! Andy Lewis, a fellow Welshman, adds the “fight” to the midfield and his main hobby is collecting yellow cards and leaving stud-marks on the back of the opposition’s legs. He’s good at it too! Alfonso Matta is a decent defender who also likes a good battle. John Vandaele and Martin Olafsson are the creative box-to- box midfielders that seem to go on and on like Duracell Bun- nies. Both are good with the ball at their feet and are unsung heroes for Lundbeck but, like typical Scandinavians, they hate to get their hair wet or kit dirty. Alan McGregor used to be a regular but he’s broken three ankles and has the handicap of a Range Rover car tire strapped to his belly. To date, Lundbeck are probably the best team never to have won anything in the league but if they continue to improve as they do, they will surely win something soon. The league title is still in the balance but the Moscow Bhoys are on another great run. The Bhoys are 6 points ahead of the Cloggs and Lundbeck 9 behind. The rest need a miracle!

October 2009 43 Columns

So what is the cause of such drastic Changing Make-up of change? Surely some “analysts” will say it’s all due to Global Warming or may be Expats Renting Apartments Penguin Migration, however the truth lies much deeper. MONEY!!! Some have by Andrei Sado, Director, Elite it, some don’t. Prior to the global finan- cial crisis, the Russian market was domi- Residential Rental, Penny Lane nated by American and British invest- Realty ments, but after the crash in 2008 the 2009 was characterized by a change picture has changed. Brits and Ameri- in the make-up of expats renting elite cans have pulled their investments out apartments. Foreign employees who of Russia and created a unique window work in Russian and international com- of opportunity for European compa- panies make up about one third of the nies to present themselves in Russia. total number of clients renting apart- And they didn’t wait long, as well as ments. Most of these were citizens of they shouldn’t have. Russia is a great the US and UK before the pre-crisis pe- market for investments and it needs se- riod. Today the situation has changed. rious investors. So who are these new According to our analytical data the employees, tenants, clients? And where share of clients from the US and UK was do they live? more than 63% in the years running up Some of the French expats prefer to live to 2009, but today this number has de- in the area near Chistye Prudy and Kitai- creased by 17%. However, employees Gorod. The reason is that they need to from Germany, France and a few other enroll their children in the French school countries have increased their presence which is conveniently located in the area. on the Russian market by nearly 17%. Proximity to a school or kindergarten is very important for all expatriates who Share of foreign tenants for different countries travel to Russia with their families. About 40% of all expats come to work in Russia January – September 2008 with their family members. This year many residential complexes located near such schools have a great number of good apartments for rent. For example, the Pokrovskoye-Glebovo complex, near the English-American School is offering quite a number of properties due to the departure of many American and British employees who earlier lived there. Some of them left Rus- sia because their companies closed proj- ects. Others decided that the financial crisis would crush the Russian economy and therefore they should find another job. Previously there was a waiting list to get into complexes near the school. This Share of foreign tenants for different countries year however it is absolutely free to get September 2008 – September 2009 in and at a lower price. But for the most part, expats chose a residence near their offices, which are usually located in Moscow’s historical center. Interestingly, over the same period July – September of last year, there was a serious deficit in high quality offers. The market has changed and clients have changed. What the new changes will bring is unclear, but what is certain is that Russians will have another oppor- tunity to show their great hospitality, and if, in previous years, mostly the Americans and British enjoyed this tra- dition, it is now the turn of Continental nationalities. P

44 October 2009 Columns Providing Effective Relocation Support by Sherman Pereira mance-based partnerships, expatriate Crown Relocations, Regional program support can be accomplished Director – Central and Eastern with consistency and quality at a quanti- Europe tative cost. Pre-defining policy guidelines, negotiating applicable supplier fees and Relocating employees is no easy task. identifying account-dedicated contacts While most companies in Russia will enables cost effective and consistent relo- move an average of 15-20 employees cation program management. per year for expatriate assignments, the related responsibilities of the HR profes- Expecting the unexpected sional can be overwhelming. Often the While some issues that arise during relo- HR professional is responsible for reloca- cation are unavoidable, it is essential that tion in addition to several other key hu- the expatriate has a single point of contact man resource management functions. or “go to” professional with experience to To ensure that the relocation program interpret policy, coordinate services, and is in alignment with the organization’s to provide guidance throughout the pro- business objectives, company culture cess. A clear explanation of roles and re- and budget requirements, adherence to sponsibilities should be discussed with the some basic principles can be helpful. employee at the onset of the assignment.

Career development and linkage to mobility Utilizing online tools First, a company needs to acknowledge its commitment to Many employees are familiar with navigating self-service mobility and the importance it has to business development and sites to research or retrieve information. Leveraging the glob- career progression. All employees should be aware of the value al access and uniform message that a company’s intranet of- the organization places on assignments. There should be a writ- fers, organizations are posting relocation policies, frequently ten relocation policy that addresses the transfer process and the asked questions, forms bins and contact links on their intranet related compensation and benefits programs that shall be made to support the relocation process. Companies, as well as relo- available to employees on assignments. Many companies post cation providers, offer online tools such as destination guides, their relocation policies on the company intranet – often with a tips for relocating and information for the expatriate’s fam- letter from the CEO expressing the company’s appreciation for ily. Crown Relocations provides clients and expatriates with the employee’s commitment and acknowledging the growth op- a mobility management system, available 24 hours a day, so portunities that are likely to arise as a result of assignment success. that both HR individuals and transferees can check the status This reinforces the link between mobility and career progression. of all aspects of their move; from expense payments in pro- cess to shipment status. Technological tools are an essential Choosing the right employee element of supporting global mobility. In order to ensure that the appropriate employees are chosen for expatriate assignments, a company should have a formal can- Measuring success didate selection process in place. Service providers offer Candi- Continuous improvement can only occur in an environ- date Assessment Programs that help the employee and spouse ment where results are measured. Employee surveys, service to explore all aspects of life on assignment – from daily living provider evaluations and internal feedback mechanisms and career development to repatriation. Emphasis is placed on should be established to assist HR in refining program design evaluating the employee’s adaptability to the new environment, delivery and process. P introducing coping skills and change-management techniques and providing an overview of behavioral, social and cultural nu- ances in the destination. Given the significant investment an as- signment represents, identifying potential opportunities that are expected to arise upon return is critical to retention and pro- tection of the company’s investment. A formal candidate-selec- tion process ensures the right employee is selected, for the right assignment, at the right time.

Overcoming challenges In addition to selecting the best candidate for the assignment, most HR professionals confront budget constraints and com- pressed turnaround times in managing the relocation process. To help alleviate some of these challenges, the HR professional should play an integral part in any business expansion strategy and should have reliable, performance-driven supplier relation- ships in place to ensure effective support. By sourcing perfor-

October 2009 45 Columns Russia Follows the World as the Recession Becomes Milder text by John Cavan one could have anticipated even a few price, suggest that although the Rus- Data clearly shows that there may not months ago. The three most important sian economy will probably grow at a only be light at the end of the tunnel for variables for the Russian economy; the more modest rate in the longer term, it the Russian economy but the recession money supply, the Purchasing Manag- is likely to stop contracting. may be coming to an end sooner than ers Index (PMI) and of course the oil Of the three indicators the oil price is clearly the most important, with prices more than doubling from their trough in January to around $70/bbl. This has meant that despite the relatively minor interest rate cuts carried out by the Cen- tral Bank of Russia, the money supply (M2), although still below the level con- sistent with trend growth and the infla- tion target, grew by 8 percent in July on a six-month annualized basis. The service sector PMI is above 50, indicat- ing an expansion. With many believing that America is now out of recession, the stage looks set for a worldwide re- covery that could further boost the Rus- sian economy. However, a note of caution needs to be sounded. The legacy of the last eigh- teen months is that American consum- ers are likely to start adopting a more cautious attitude to debt, reducing im- ports into the United States. The IMF and the OECD have also warned that global growth may be anaemic next year. Such stagnation would be clearly bad news, both for those who work for export orientated firms and oil prices generally. The launching of a new gen- eration of super energy efficient cars could also put an effective ceiling on oil prices. It should also be noted that there are several risks to the downside. The U.S. recovery may be a chimera, while there are some indications that the Chinese recession that was predicted last year, may merely have been delayed rather than prevented. Certainly, a fall in Chi- nese or American demand could send both manufacturing and oil prices back to square one. The attempts to curb oil speculation that are being introduced by the major world commodity ex- changes will undoubtedly move prices downward even if the economic out- look remains more benign. This vulner- ability is especially important, since the Central Bank of Russia has demonstrat- ed over the last year that it is unable to apply the appropriate monetary tools to combat the threat of deflation. P

46 October 2009 Viewpoint Good Enough by Fred Flintstone Fred and Fred Jr got a couple of packs of Fred’s favorite childhood movie snack, the “melt-in-your-mouth-not-in- your-hand” classic, for an evening DVD. When Fred Jr poured them out, Fred was dismayed at the assortment of misshap- en, cracked oddballs in his hand. Back home, even one such piece would have the consumer calling Homeland Security or the CDC. Despite the distinguished lineage of the producer, someone at the local plant concluded that this product was ‘good enough’ for the market. When Fred travels home, he still gets requests from friends to bring a carton or two of cigarettes, the ones with the cow- boy mascot, or a box of non-caloric sweetener, the beneficiary complaining that the local produced versions are just not the same. Fred just came back from Paris where he savored the Cuba?” Do we accept what we have as ‘good enough’ because rich, mellow Dutch, Danish and French iconic beers that are it is better than a place where conditions are worse? now brewed in Bedrock. The local versions sure don’t taste like It would be easy to blame the foreign company, but they the originals, but they apparently are ‘good enough’ for locals. mostly provide the financial capital and tools and equipment, With few exceptions, notably the Swedish furniture retailer but it is the human capital, management and workers who, as and the Golden Arches, which Fred thinks produce as good or Marx would say are the primary factor of production. As long better than at home, it is difficult to excel in a market where as they accept ‘good enough’ that is what they also will re- both workers in their workplace, and workers as consumers ceive as consumers. P accept ‘good enough’. Just this week, Fred had a problem with an online plane res- ervation – his local bank charged his credit card but the airline had no record of payment. The airline suggested that he ‘call’ his bank to get payment information, for them a routine matter. Fred laughed, “Are you kidding, call? I’ll have to go there, spend an hour in traffic, wait in line, and in the end I’ll probably end up with nothing.” Exactly – after an hour and a half at the desk with the clerk, and half a dozen phone calls to various manag- ers, Fred received not a single detail – a tupik (dead end) as they say – no plane ticket and out of money. One manager could see the charge on his screen, but without explanation refused to print or email it. Finally, this was ‘good enough’ to get pesky Fred out of the bank. And this was a European owned bank. Fred scolds himself , “your memory is short. Remember that warm, flat beer ten years ago, or when you’d packed a two week supply of toilet paper for a visit because, if you could find TP locally, it might just as well be used for fine sanding the woodwork on a remont.” But Fred looks forward, and the past is a place he would prefer not to dwell. Fred always liked the Avis car rental slo- gan – “We try harder” and loves President Kennedy’s speech, “…We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…” Occasionally a complaint surfaces on the popular expat email hotline, inevitably followed by a local commentator with a line like, “well, you shouldn’t complain. That’s pretty much like it is in other countries.” Fred restrains himself from firing a response like, “which countries exactly are we talking about – Somalia,

October 2009 47 Viewpoint Diary of a Tsar-in-Waiting by Michael Romanov It was enormously good sport, so I accepted without hesi- With autumn now galloping gloomily on, it is perhaps time tation the invitation issued in late summer by a Russian friend, to relive some of the memories of high summer with its glori- Ivan, to an evening of what he called “Africa-themed racing” ous days of sport. at the Moscow “gippodrome”. I have been studying Russian In my capacity as Tsar-in-Waiting (until the next election, long enough to know that, because the alphabet has no “h”, after which I hope to be simply “Tsar”), I attended many gippodrome actually means hippodrome, just as gomosexual exotic events, like the elephant polo out at the Slonskaya means homosexual, and a roll in the gay is a roll in the hay. Country Club, and the exhibition of kick-boxing given by I really wanted to see a herd of wide-bodied water-cows a pair of giraffes at the Moscow zoo in aid of the Save the (as hippos are called by the amaKaunda) thundering round a Warthog Fund. But the strangest event this year, the one Russian race course towards a heap of pumpkins freshly flown that came closest to real Russkaya ekzotika, was the hippo in from Tajikistan. racing at Begovaya. Our party foregathered in the early afternoon at Dingaan’s, I’d seen hippo racing before, during my younger days a restaurant just off Tverskaya, where we drank ice-cold beer as a district officer in what was then Northern Rhodesia. while waiting for the limousines kindly provided by the spon- The procedure was to fence off an especially rich pumpkin soring brewery to take us out to the hippodrome, which is plantation near one of the larger rivers just as the plants situated close to Begovaya metro station. were ripening and the nostrils of every hippo in the vicinity I said to Ivan that I hoped the transport would not come too were beginning to twitch. Then one evening, an hour after soon as hippos have very sensitive skin, which is why they live nightfall, the starter would open a gate and let the animals in water and forage only after dark. It would be cruel to race into the enclosure. The passion with which a fully-grown such animals in strong sunlight. Laughing rather strangely, he hippo will hurtle in the direction of free pumpkin makes appeared to interpret this as a request for more drink which, for exciting racing. trying to be polite, I accepted. We, the sahibs, used to take our pink gins up into a high Proceedings at the race course began with lunch in a pri- viewing stand, safely above the tumult, and watch the stam- vate dining room behind our box. Looking at the menu of pede by searchlight, while betting on different animals, much pseudo-African exotica, I asked Ivan if I could just have plain as one might do at Ascot or The Curragh. pumpkin. When he said it was not on the menu I asked if

48 October 2009 Art this was to prevent the hippos being distracted by the scent and bounding up to our box for a quick pit-stop half-way How to say… through the race. Once again, he looked at me rather strangely. So I plumped “It depends…” for the most conventional item I could see, which was snake- fingers casseroled with cloud-seed and trunk-water, and When you can’t, or would rather not give a straight served on a bed of Limpupu leaves. It came accompanied answer, have a few of the following phrases up your sleeve. by a South African vodka which was served so cold I almost (You’ll need to mug up on your genitive case endings, had to eat it. required after от): As the lunch progressed, life seemed to get jollier and jollier. It might have been the vodka. But to be fair, I had never tried trunk-water before, even though I lived with You may be dependent on other people: elephants for years. Whatever the cause, the result was Это зависит от него. It depends on him. that when we finally made our way from the table out Это зависит полностью от Вас. It depends entirely on you. onto the balcony, the hippos seemed to have assumed a Это не зависит от меня. It’s not up to me. peculiar shape. For a start, they looked much thinner and more agile than Or some other factor: any I had ever seen in Africa, and their legs were longer and Это зависит от погоды. It depends on the weather. more slender, with funny little hoof-like things fixed to the Это зависит от температуры. ends. But odder still, the animals all had riders sitting on top It depends on the temperature. of them, dressed in colourful shirts and caps. Это зависит от пробок. It depends on the traffic. Now if there is one thing I learned in the Dark Continent, it is that you never get close to a hungry hippo unless you have When making plans: a strong steel fence separating you from it. A mere saddle is Это зависит от времени. It depends if we have time. no use. They are powerful and dangerous animals. Yet here in Это зависит от настроения. It depends on one’s mood. Russia brave young men, completely unarmed except for rid- Всё зависит от цели. It all depends what you’re after. ing crops, were apparently prepared to get up on their backs and try to steer these huge beasts towards their dinner. Russ- Or when making a purchase: kaya ekzotika indeed! Это зависит от цены. It depends on the price. I put my thousand roubles on Mine Dump, and dump he Это зависит от наличия этого в Москве. did, coming last by a mile from Witch Doctor and Big Hole. It depends if you can get it in Moscow. I’ve seen babushkas without a bus to catch, or even a jockey on top, move faster than Mine Dump did. Maybe he’d been When not followed directly by a noun: on the trunk-water too. Это зависит от того, кто там будет. Strangest of all was that at the end of the race, the ani- It depends who’ll be there. mals simply drew up and milled around, apparently indif- Это зависит от того, где это находится. ferent to the demands of their stomachs. I asked Ivan where It depends where it is. the pumpkins were. He looked at me strangely for a third Это зависит от того, насколько я голоден! time, then said with a laugh, “You’ll find out if you stay It depends how hungry I am! here much longer. At midnight our limousines all turn into Это зависит от того, что тебе больше нравится. pumpkins.” It depends what you prefer. That seemed the right time to leave, before the hippos dis- covered the secret and we had to make our way home on At the end of the day, Russians are fond of the metro. P exclaiming: На самом деле, всё зависит! In actual fact it all depends (i.e. you just never know!).

Courtesy of RUSLINGUA www.ruslingua.com

October 2009 49 Distribution List

Restaurants & Bars Porto Maltese Gogolevsky 11 International SOS Academy Prognoz Pogody Iris Business Center US Dental Care Adriatico Pyramid Japan House MedinCentre Adzhanta Real McCoy Lotte Plaza Aist Rendezvous Meyerkhold House Others Alrosa R&B Cafe Morskoi Dom American Chamber American Bar & Grill Scandinavia Mosalarko Plaza of Commerce Apshu Seiji Mosbusiness Center American Express Art Bazar Shafran Moscow Business Center Anglo-American School Art Chaikhona Shamrock Mosenka 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 American Institute of Business Australian Open Shanti Novinsky Passage and Economics Baan Thai Shokolad Olympic Plaza Astravel Beavers Silvers Irish Pub Romanov Dvor Aviatransagentstvo BeerHouse Simple Pleasures Samsung Center Baker Hughes Bellezza Starlite Diner Sodexho British International School Bistrot Sudar Cara & Co. Blooming Sakura SunGate Embassies Coca Cola Blue Elephant T. G. I. Friday’s Australia Citibank Bookafe Talk of the Town Austria Concept MR, ZAO Cafe des Artistes Tapa de Comida Belgium Dr. Loder’s Cafe Atlas Tesoro Brazil DHL Cafe Courvoisier The Place Canada English International School Cafe Cipollino Trattoria Macaroni China Ernst & Young Cafe Gorozhanin Tunnel Cyprus Evans Property Services Cafe Michelle Vanilla Sky Czech Republic Expat Salon Cafe Mokka Vogue Cafe Denmark Foreign Ministry Press Center Cantinetta Antinori Vesna Delegation of EC General Electric Сarre Blanc White Sun of the Desert Egypt General Motors CIS Che Yapona Mama Finland Gold’s Gym Chenonceau Zapravochnya France Halliburton International China Dream Germany Hinkson Christian Academy Cicco Pizza Hotels Hungary Imperial Tailoring Co. Coffee Bean Akvarel Hotel Moscow Iceland Indian Shop Colonna Ararat Park Hyatt Indonesia Interpochta Costa Coffee Art-Hotel India Ital-Market Cutty Sark Hotel&spa Israel JAL Da Cicco Belgrad Italy JCC Darbar Courtyard by Marriott Japan Jones Lang LaSalle Djonka Globus Kuwait LG Electronics Dom Kompozitorov Golden Apple Hotel Luxembourg Mega/IKEA Esterhazy East-West Malaysia Moscow Voyage Bureau Fat Mo Hilton Leningradskaya Mauritius Move One Relocations Feras Iris Hotel Mexico NB Gallery French Cafe Katerina-City Hotel Netherlands Park Place Gallery of Art Marriott Grand New Zealand Passport Office Gandhara Marriot Royal Aurora Norway PBN Company Ginger Cafe Marriott Tverskaya Pakistan Penny Lane Realty Gorki Metropol Peru Philips Russia Grand Havana Mezhdunarodnaya 2 Philippines Pilates Yoga Guilly’s Maxima Hotels Pokrovky Hills Hard Rock Cafe National Portugal PricewaterhouseCoopers Hotdogs Novotel 1, 2 Saudi Arabia Procter & Gamble Ichiban Boshi Proton Singapore Pulford Il Patio Radisson Slavyanskaya Slovenia Reuters Italianets Renaissance South Africa Renaissance Capital Ju-Ju Sheraton Palace South Korea Respublika Khajuraho Soyuz Spain Rolf Group Labardans Sretenskaya Sweden Ruslingua Liga Pub Swissotel Krasnye Holmy Thailand Russo-British Chamber of Com- Louisiana Steak House Tiflis United Arab Emirates merce Mikstura Volga United Kingdom St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Molly Gwynn’s Pub United States Savant Navarros Zolotoye Koltso Schwartzkopf & Henkel Night Flight Medical Centers Shishkin Gallery Nostalgie Business Centers American Clinic Sport Line Club Old Havana Club American Center American Dental Clinic Swiss International Airlines Pancho Villa Business Center Degtyarny American Dental Center TeamAllied Papa’s Business Center Mokhovaya American Medical Center Tretiakov Gallery Pizza Express Dayev Plaza European Dental Center Unilever Pizza Maxima Ducat Place 2 European Medical Center Uniastrum Bank Planeta Sushi Dunaevsky 7 German Dental Center WimmBillDann

50 October 2009